


Priceless

by a_kiwi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AU, Angst, Antique Shops, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, antique shop owner!Suga, aobajohsai!Suga, side - IwaOi, side - TsukiYama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-06-09 04:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 36,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6890650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_kiwi/pseuds/a_kiwi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stepping out of someone's shadow isn't always easy. And that's what happens to Sugawara Koushi: attending Aobajohsai seemed like a wonderful choice, but when he arrived at the volleyball team, immediately it was like he was tossed aside for a better player.<br/>Dejected, Sugawara stops playing volleyball, and takes up antiquing instead. So now, almost eight years after his final decision, he runs an antique shop in a corner of Miyagi.<br/>-<br/>Sawamura Daichi just needs a present for his mom's 55th birthday. He finds out about an almost unknown antique shop, and heads there.<br/>He didn't expect to find someone who would change his life forever.<br/>(<em>This can't be love at first sight, right?!</em>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Daichi stood in front of a door. More specifically, a door to a small, antique resale shop tucked away in a neat corner of Miyagi. His hand rested on the handle, not quite ready to enter yet. _What if someone he knew saw him in the antique shop?_ He tried not to care about what anyone would think of him if they saw him here. Anyway, his mother’s fifty-fifth birthday was in two days and he had to get her a gift- something that showed his care and appreciation, but not too big or expensive. He had not the time or money to order anything online. Besides, his mom adored antiques and a gift like this would really mean something to her. _What the hell? Why was he even thinking about his reputation at a time like this?_  
  
He peered through the glass that covered the wall facing outside. The shop was packed full of (probably expensive) antiques. It looked as though no one was actually inside, not even somebody running the store. There was a car parked outside the shop, but it looked like it was the owner’s, not a customer’s. The shop itself was small, probably not receiving a lot of attention. Flower pots adorned the outside of the building, giving it a homey feel with the colorful hues of flowers bursting from seemingly every direction. Daichi sighed, and after another moment’s hesitation, finally pushed open the door.  
  
A small bell attached to the door rang as the door swung open and closed when Daichi entered. He was right- no one was in the shop, but there was a closed door in the back, behind sprawling shelves full of old clocks, tea sets, plates, silverware, lamps, and other odd items like locks and mirrors.  
  
“Coming!” A voice, coming from behind the back door, yelled. A moment later, a guy stepped out, shutting the door behind him. Daichi was stunned; he was expecting an elderly lady to be working there, not him. The guy seemed around his age with airy silver hair, rich hazel eyes with a mole just below the left one. He was wearing a white button up shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, along with a gray apron which hugged his chest. The guy looked at Daichi for a moment before smiling gently.  
  
Daichi realized he was staring at the male. He cleared his throat, taking a step further into the shop. “Hi, I’m looking for a gift for my mother, it’s her birthday in a few days, and I need to buy something.”  
  
The male walked away from the back door and towards Daichi. Now that he was closer, Daichi realized he was a few centimeters taller than the owner of the shop. “Alright, what does she like?”  
  
“A-antiques.” Daichi stuttered as the (rather pretty, although Daichi wouldn’t admit that aloud) male approached him. After a moment, the guy started laughing, and Daichi’s breath caught in his throat. He felt heat creep up into his cheeks. _Did he say something weird?_  
  
“Of course!” The guy laughed, punching Daichi on the bicep. “You wouldn’t be at an antique shop otherwise.” Daichi laughed nervously. “Hey, don’t be so anxious, this is just a shop. I totally understand why you’re here.” The male held out his hand. “My name’s Sugawara Koushi, but my friends call me Suga. Or, my customers, rather. I’m afraid I don’t ever do much besides run this place.” Suga gestured to the shop around him. Daichi had been so focused on Suga that he wasn’t taking in the sights or the smells of the place. It smelled faintly of rosemary and fresh trees. A few lamps were on, casting a yellowish glow, but the natural light which seeped through the windows washed out the yellow lamplight.  
  
Daichi took Suga’s hand in a handshake. It was warm and soft, like his smile. In fact, the whole shop radiated warmth and kindness. He smiled in response, both lowering their hands. “I’m Sawamura Daichi, it’s nice to meet you.” He peeled his eyes off Suga and glanced around. “You run this place? By yourself?”  
  
Suga put a hand on his hip. “Yeah. It’s really not that hard, though. I don’t get many visitors, but I collect enough money to keep things going.” He turned back to Daichi. “So what did you have in mind as a gift, Sawamura?”  
  
“Oh, Daichi’s fine,” he said, looking back at Suga. “But, I don’t know. I was hoping you’d have a small selection and I’d just pick something that wasn’t too expensive.”  
  
“If you need something cheaper, that’ll narrow it down. How much? About ¥2,000?”  
  
Daichi nodded. “Exactly, it’s like you’re reading my mind.” Suga chuckled, beginning to walk around the store, glancing at price tags. Daichi followed as if he was Suga’s shadow. Suga moved the items around, trying to find something that would fit Daichi’s needs.  
  
“See anything you like?”  
  
Daichi had to bite his lip to keep from saying, _You_. Instead, he said, “She always says how she could use a new reading lamp, or maybe that’d be too big of a gift?”  
  
Suga shook his head, glancing back at Daichi. “I think it sounds fine,” he replied, moving to where most of the lamps were located. He ran the pads of his fingers over the wood on a lamp, tracing the delicate designs etched there. “This one is only ¥1,999. And it’s really pretty too.” Suga tilted his head, almost as if he needed to look at it with a better angle. “Made back in the 18th century…” He looked at Daichi, raising an eyebrow. _Goddamnit. He’s hot._ That eyebrow nearly gave Daichi a heart attack. “...it has a rococo style, which I like. Not to mention these light brown and tan colors can fit anywhere.”  
  
“Uh, yeah, it looks great.” Daichi scratched the back of his neck. Suga smiled. “You really know your stuff, don’t you?”  
  
Suga plucked the lamp up off the display table and brought it over to a corner of the store, where an old cash register sat. Suga slipped behind the counter. “Hm? Oh, yeah, I kind of got into this during my third year in high school. I wasn’t really doing any club activities, and I was unsure of what I wanted to do in my future. My mom, she used to love antiques. She passed down many of them to me. Others I bought myself. But I have no real use for them, so I’m selling them. Well, choice items I keep. And I want others to experience them, too, y’know?” He shrugged. “Like I said, this place isn’t popular. I’ve placed a few ads around, and I make enough money to sustain myself.”  
  
“What’d you do before this job?” Daichi asked, curious in the silver-haired boy’s life. It was odd, when he first saw Suga, it was like a switch in his head just went off. Now he couldn’t stop blushing and thinking unreasonable things around him. He never really had any interest in dating before- volleyball crowded Daichi’s teenage years, and he even still played it at 23, five years after he graduated from Karasuno. But he never met anyone so attractive as Sugawara, in both looks and personality. He felt drawn in, like a moth to a campfire: Suga seemed to be a special light in a world full of darkness. He wanted to know more about him. He could stand here all day and stare into those hazel-brown eyes, richer than the color of melted, dripping caramel. He could listen to Suga’s gentle voice fill the shop, encircling his mind and throwing him into a strange trance. He longed to feel his smooth skin again, under his own. _This can’t be love at first sight._ Well, Daichi had to admit that he really didn’t know a thing about love at first sight, or love in general. But it was possible: Suga was just so entrancing and beguiling. _Okay, this is probably love at first sight. Damn it._  
  
“Like, in high school? I was in the volleyball club for my first year.”  
  
Daichi’s eyes widened. “No way! I still play it now!” He grinned. “Why’d you stop?”  
  
Suga looked away from Daichi’s eyes, fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt at his elbow. “I was overshadowed. I never got to play.”  
  
“Really, where’d you go to school?”  
  
Suga met Daichi’s gaze again, muttering something Daichi couldn’t hear.  
  
“I didn’t quite catch that…”  
  
He looked away again. “Aobajohsai.” Suga said louder, bitterness tracing his words.  
  
“Outshadowed…” Daichi put two and two together. “By Oikawa?”  
  
Suga nodded. “In my first year.” He then suddenly shook his head, wiping at the corners of his eyes. “God, I’m so dumb. I can’t dwell on this.”  
  
“Sorry for bringing it up if it really hurts you to think about, Suga.”  
  
“No, it’s fine… just… I never did anything. I was so happy in junior high, and I played it back then, too. But as soon as I entered Aobajohsai, I…” he trailed off. “Well, Oikawa immediately outclassed me as setter. And I quit after my first year. I don’t really want to play it again. I never have wanted to.”  
  
Daichi nodded. “We beat Shiratorizawa at the Spring Tournament in my third year. Karasuno made it to nationals.” Suga’s eyes widened, his mouth slightly open.  
  
“No way!” He grinned. “I heard about that from Oikawa, he was in my class that year. He was talking to some girl about their loss to Karasuno… _you_ really went there?”  
  
“I was captain.”  
  
“No. Way.” Suga repeated. “You must’ve had girls crowding you wherever you went.” He laughed. “I mean, you’re so handsome,” neither noticed the other blush at that statement, “and probably popular after going to nationals.”  
  
Daichi’s eyes widened in embarrassment. “Thanks,” he chuckled, “but not really. It was mostly the other guys who received all the attention.”  
  
“You’re lying,” Suga rolled his eyes, poking Daichi in the stomach.  
  
“Am not.”  
  
“Am too.”  
  
“Am not.”  
  
“Am too.”  
  
Daichi sighed, obviously letting Suga win the ‘game’. Laughing at Daichi’s exasperation, Suga pressed a few buttons on the old cash register. “Alright, your total is ¥1,999.” He slid the lamp slightly closer to his customer.  
  
As Daichi fished the money from his wallet, Suga continued talking. “But thank you for stopping by, and here of all places. There’s probably some other antique shop close by, and they probably are more top-of-the-line, but I try my best here. And I usually don’t get customers as dynamic or interesting as you.” Suga smiled sweetly. Daichi tried not to blush, but he felt his cheeks heat up. The silver-haired boy’s cheeks began to turn pink. The two made eye contact again when Daichi handed Suga the money, the backs of his fingers brushing against Suga’s palms. Then the owner pushed a few more buttons on the register, and it made a sound as a receipt was ejected from the side. Suga plucked it out, but instead of handing it over to Daichi, he grabbed a pen and began writing on the back.  
  
“That’s probably the nicest thing I’ve heard in a while.” Daichi chuckled. “Thanks, Suga- uh, what are you writing?”  
  
Again, another sweet smile crossed Suga’s lips, and the pink blush remained on his cheeks. “Oh, nothing.” Suga folded up the paper with one hand and grabbed Daichi’s with the other, thrusting the receipt into his hand and closing his fingers around it. “Open that later. It was nice to meet you, Daichi! Good luck with the gift!” He said.  
  
Daichi smiled in response, grabbing the lamp and waving as he walked toward the exit. He really didn’t want to leave. The shop felt so warm and cozy and he could sit there for hours, just talking to Suga- no, he didn’t even have to talk, they could just sit within each other’s presence and he’d be content. “It was nice to meet you too, Suga, and thanks again,” he called on his way outside. Suga held a grin as Daichi pushed open the door and walked outside. Then he sighed, and held his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes.  
  
“Why does talking to attractive guys have to be so draining?” Suga whispered to himself.  
  
Meanwhile, Daichi was standing outside the small shop, the light spring breeze flowing around his body and winding its way through his hair. He stowed the antique lamp in the backseat of his car, making sure it would be okay during the drive back to his apartment, then he took the folded up receipt into his fingers. Slowly, he opened it up to the back side, scanning Suga’s beautiful handwriting, reading what he had written.  
  
_I enjoyed our conversation a latte, call me tomorrow and we can go have coffee? :)_  
  
Followed by a set of numbers that was, unmistakably, Suga’s number. Daichi, a ridiculous blush coating his face and his hands trembling, punched Suga’s number into his contacts list. He took a deep breath, opening his car door and sliding behind the wheel.  
  
“You’re too good for me, Sugawara,” Daichi mumbled to no one in particular.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suga's going on a date. Oikawa thinks it's a big deal. Iwaizumi doesn't care, and Daichi still gets nervous when talking to attractive guys.

“ _ Following this morning’s report about the fire in a restaurant at downtown Miyagi: the fire seemed to have originated from a stovetop in the kitchen, fortunately none of the customers or employees were harmed, and it caused minimal long-lasting damage to the building itself. Up next is the weather- _ ”

Suga flicked the power button on the tv remote with his finger. He turned and pulled his bedsheets over his shoulder and closed his eyes, sighing after the long day of work (and the rather taxing experience with the man earlier that day- his name was Daichi, right? Yeah…). 

Just when his eyes fluttered closed, his phone buzzed on the table next to his bed. Groaning, Suga picked up the device, running it over in his fingers before processing what was on the screen. He groaned again when he saw who the text was from.  _ Oikawa. _

_ How was your day, Koushi-chan? Heard you met someone… _

“I don’t want to deal with him over text,” Suga mumbled, clicking Oikawa’s contact and the call button. He set the phone to his ear, and soon he heard his friend’s childish voice.  _ Sometimes it’s nice how Oikawa hasn’t changed from high school,  _ Suga thought.

“Koushi-chan!” Oikawa yelled playfully. Suga smiled slightly- it was always nice to have friends, most of his friendships in high school had drifted apart, but Oikawa and Iwaizumi he had remained in contact with. They were really the only people he talked to besides family and the elderly ladies who entered the store on a regular basis. And he enjoyed hanging around Oikawa and Iwaizumi, even if he was third-wheeling their relationship from time to time.

“How’d you hear about that anyway?” Suga sat up on the bed, the blankets rolling off his chest. 

“Tobio-chan- remember him, the setter from Karasuno when they went to nationals? We were third years… anyway- Tobio-chan said he was talking to- wait, who was Karasuno’s captain at that time? Was it Daichi-san? Anyway, they talked about you, Tobio told me, and I just had to pester you…”

“Yeah, it was Daichi. He stopped by my store earlier, and we talked a little…”

“A little?”

“I gave him my number and asked him to coffee tomorrow morning.” Suga shrugged like it was no big deal, but apparently it was just the opposite to Oikawa.

A small gasp followed by pleased laughter erupted from the phone, and Suga had to move it away so he wouldn’t go deaf. He chuckled a little, too, just listening to Oikawa. 

“Iwa-chan? Iwa-chan!” Oikawa called. “Get in here! Koushi-chan has a boyfriend!”

“I’m not dating him-”

“You are too! You’re going on a  _ date  _ with him tomorrow!” From the other side of the phone, he heard far away groaning and more childish laughter. “Yes, Iwa-chan, the old captain of Karasuno, when we were third-years, Koushi-chan is going on a date with him…” There was more talking from Iwaizumi which Suga couldn’t decipher, “tomorrow morning, they’re getting coffee… Oh, aren’t they just the cutest? Can’t you see it, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa laughed again, moving his attention from his boyfriend and back to the phone call with Suga. “Well, he left, he was mad ‘cause I woke him up… And ‘ _ for such a petty reason, Oikawa! I don’t care about Koushi’s love life, let me sleep _ ’!”

“It’s alright, Oikawa. Listen, I’m also trying to go to sleep, okay?”

“Can’t be tired for your date tomorrow~!”

Suga sighed. “Yes, I know, Oikawa. But I really have to go, alright? I’ll text you once I get back from-”

“Your date?” He interrupted. Suga’s face heated up, pink coating his cheeks.

“Uh, yeah, my date…” Suga mumbled; Oikawa let out a cheer.

“Talk to you tomorrow, Koushi-chan!”

And as abruptly as the conversation had begun, it ended. 

Running his fingers through his hair, Suga pushed the blankets off his legs and stood up from his bed.  _ I’m not going to sleep anytime soon, might as well grab something to eat... _ he thought.

If anyone only saw Suga’s kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom, they’d think he lived in an ordinary house, but actually he was living in the back rooms of his antique shop. After high school, he longed to move out, and the rooms in the back of the shop had enough space to accommodate one person. He walked into his kitchen, rummaging through the pantry but unable to find anything appetizing. Instead, he opened the door to the main area of the shop and walked through it.

His shop after closing hours was a wonderful sight. No lights were on, so only moonlight seeped through the windows, sparkling and glittering on the shiny surface of antiques. The only sound was every clock, ticking in unison. He sat down on a couch somewhere near the front windows, laying his head back on the furniture. Suga enjoyed this time of serenity, staring outside at the flower pots strung from the archway and the colorful bushes and trees lining the side of the street.

Eventually his thoughts wandered to Daichi, as everything seemed to today. After Daichi, he had another young customer who said he currently played for a volleyball team for some school Suga didn’t bother to remember the name of. Of course, when the teenager mentioned volleyball, he thought about the man who visited him earlier. He remembered the feeling of Daichi’s hand in his own (even if it was just a handshake), he remembered the way Daichi smiled or blushed and nervously scratched at the back of his neck. Suga couldn’t think of anything else. He just wanted to go to sleep and wake up tomorrow with his phone buzzing and Daichi’s voice on the other end, saying he was outside.

The whole situation seemed crazy and cliché. Boy runs antique shop. Other boy needs an antique as a gift. Boys meet. Boys fall in love. Boys talk about their past. Boys get coffee. Boys make out in an alley. Cliché. If Suga was reading a book about this storyline, or watching a movie or tv show, he’d be all for it. But now that he was living this story… it seemed unreal.

Suga glanced at a clock on a nearby table.  _ 10:37 _ . He sighed, clicking a button on his phone, making sure that he hadn’t gotten a call or text from Daichi. He closed his eyes, head leaning back on the couch, when suddenly his phone vibrated wildly in his hand and filled the silence with jarring noises. His eyes flew open, and on the screen was an unrecognizable set of numbers. His heart seemed to skip a beat when he answered the call. “Hello? This is Sugawara Koushi,” He mumbled. On the other end was a relieved sigh.

“Suga, glad you answered so late. Time flew and I forgot to call,” Daichi’s voice slipped out of the phone. Suga smiled, adjusting his position on the couch so that his feet were dangling off the side and he was laying across the full length. 

“No, it’s fine,” Suga chuckled. “I’m bored. So I was trying to go to sleep.” He paused. “...on a couch.”

“Did you try a bed?”

Suga laughed, “No, Daichi, that didn’t occur to me. But antique couches are so uncomfortable. Remind me why anyone buys them?”

“You have antiques in your house?”

Suga didn’t realize that he hadn’t told Daichi that he lived in the back of his shop. His cheeks heated. “Oh, well, you see… I kind of live with my antiques. I stay in the back rooms of my shop…”

“Oh, that’s pretty cool.” Suga let out the breath he had been holding in. He was glad Daichi didn’t think anything bad of it. “Hey, Suga, I called to ask… um… what time do you want to go have coffee? I didn’t know if you were a morning person or…”

Suga laughed. “Some days I’m a morning person. Most of the time I can’t drag myself out of bed before nine. Any time after nine would be great, Daichi.” He smiled, glad that this was a phone call, because he didn’t really want Daichi to see his face.

“Alright, I’ll be there at nine-thirty.” Daichi said. “See you then, Suga,”

“Thanks, Daichi, and see you tomorrow,” Suga tapped the back of his phone with a fingernail before adding, “Goodnight.”

Daichi smiled, his cheeks turning to a light red color. “‘Night, Suga.” Then he hung up.

Suga laid, sprawled across his antique couch. His phone was clutched in his right hand, and his eyes were fixed on Daichi’s number. Suga quickly created a contact for him. Then he dropped his phone gently on the cushions of the couch as he stared at the ceiling.

“This couch  _ is  _ uncomfortable,” He whispered to no one but himself. Then Suga stood, stretching his back, and making his way back to his bedroom. As he pulled open the door dividing the shop with his living area. Then he turned around, glancing at the front door to the shop.

_ Daichi will be standing there again tomorrow morning. _

Suga could visualize him standing there- the breeze floating through his hair, tugging at the ends- the sun sparkling in his eyes- a smile dancing to an unknown melody on his lips.

Then he shut himself in his room, flopping on the bed once again. Suga checked the time on his phone.  _ 11:11 _ . How had he let the time slip away like that?

Suga remembered something Oikawa always told him.  _ “Koushi-chan! It’s 11:11! Make a wish!” _

So Sugawara Koushi wished. He whispered his hope so low, that barely even he heard the sound, but the words stung in his mind. He whispered it so eloquently, that only the stars took note. But what he wanted most of all was for Daichi to hear what he whispered that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! I really enjoy writing this story~
> 
> Next chapter will be fun, haha
> 
> But anyways if you enjoyed, leave a kudos or a comment!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coffee apparently isn't the only thing at the coffee shop.

When Daichi had heard Suga’s voice on the phone last night, he wasn’t sure whether he should be relieved or anxious. 

The guy was pretty, Daichi had to give him that. And he wanted to learn all about Suga; he was such an interesting person. But there was one part of him that was scared to call. Daichi had never had much experience in the way of crushes. He didn’t want to screw this up.

He didn’t even know if Suga liked him in the way Daichi liked Suga. Yes, the silver-haired man was a flirt, Daichi could tell. The only question was did he treat everyone like this?

_ You’re over thinking this.  _ Daichi told himself, shaking his head. He had been sitting in his car for approximately ten minutes, waiting outside the shop, trying to decide between calling Suga to come outside or to just go inside himself. Suga would probably appreciate it if Daichi came inside the shop. Sighing with apprehension, he dragged himself out of his car and to the shop, the all-too-familiar door handle once again under his palm. But this time, he didn’t hesitate. 

The bells chimed as Daichi pushed open the door. “Suga?” He called into the empty shop, walking in further as the door swung shut behind him. Once again he was struck by the familiarity of the place. He had only ever been here once, but it was already starting to feel like a home, as if he grew up here in his childhood. Today, the rosemary scent of the shop was covered by a smell of roses, wafting itself through the air. “Suga!” Daichi called again, but still to no response.

He checked his watch. It was only 9:34, four minutes over the time he had originally promised to be there. He couldn’t have come too early, right? Daichi stepped towards the back door where Suga lived, then knocked against it gently. “Suga?” He asked, lowering his voice.

There was a groan from the other side of the door, and the creaking of a bed. “Daichi? You’re here already?” Suga asked, the door opening slowly to reveal the disheveled man. “W-what time is it?” He rubbed at his eyes cutely. Daichi tried to calm his pounding heart.

“Nine thirty-four…” Daichi answered, trying not to stare too heavily at Suga’s hair, messy from sleep, or think about the way he only slept in a t-shirt and  _ really  _ short shorts.  _ Don’t stare at his thighs. That’s weird. But they’re nice thighs… No, Daichi. Don’t stare at his thighs. _ He had to force his eyes to lock with Suga’s. Suga was squinting at the sudden change in light, but slowly he opened his eyes, revealing the light hazel color staring at him sleepily.

“Oh, sorry,” Suga yawned, “I guess I overslept… I couldn’t really go to sleep last night…”

“It’s fine!” Daichi said suddenly. “I’ll let you get back to sleep, it’s alright-”

“No, no,” Suga waved his hand, “I need to get dressed anyway. Would you… mind waiting?”

“Yeah... I mean- no, I mean- I wouldn’t mind. I’ll wait.” Daichi stuttered. Suga nodded, smiling.

“Thanks, Dai,” Suga mumbled, shutting the door slowly. Daichi’s face flushed a crimson shade at the nickname.  _ Why am I blushing at this? It’s a nickname! I’m pathetic! _ He covered his cheeks with his hands, trying to get the color to go away before Suga finished getting ready.

On the other side of the door, Suga rubbed furiously at his eyes, trying to wake himself up. It didn’t help at all that his mind felt like it was filled to the brim with thick, gooey honey, and his brain was processing everything at a rate slower than a snail sliding across dirt. When his eyes hurt and he was seeing circles behind his eyelids, he pried them open, staring at his reflection in a mirror.

_ Oh God, I look horrible. _ Suga thought to himself.  _ No. Horrible’s an understatement. _   
“My hair’s tangled, and I just opened the door  _ while wearing booty shorts _ .” Suga whispered to himself; he was mortified, to say the least. “Daichi’s out there.” His hand froze while trailing down his cheek.  _ He just answered the door to Daichi while wearing booty shorts. _

Unfreezing, he threw off his pajamas and put on something more appropriate. He scanned over his ensemble while brushing out his silvery hair. Suga had decided on jeans with a gray plaid jacket over a white shirt. It was simple. He tried not to overthink it much, though he had failed. Hesitating slightly, he finally pushed open the door, sliding his phone into his back pocket. Daichi stood from his spot on a nearby couch.

“Sorry,” Suga chuckled, “I forgot to set an alarm, or something…”

“You don’t need to apologize.” Daichi said quickly. “It’s just coffee.”

“ _ Just _ coffee?” He laughed. “I practically need coffee to wake up. It’s an addiction now.” The two moved out of the shop, Suga locking it behind him, then playfully punching Daichi on the shoulder. “I need coffee therapy.”

Daichi rolled his eyes, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “So, which coffee place are we going to?” He asked, opening his car door and sliding inside. Suga followed.

“There’s one not too far from here, I actually visit it often,” He said, “and the girls there know me.”

“Oh, I know the one you’re talking about, I drive past it every day going to volleyball practice.”

Suga stared at Daichi, hazel eyes fixing on him. “Who do you play for?” Daichi’s gaze was drawn in, like a magnet, and the two locked eyes. Suga’s showed indifference; besides the warm color, they were void of emotion towards the sport. His clenched fists showed otherwise.

“The neighborhood association team. Much of my passion died out after high school. I never really dreamt to go pro. I always felt like I was… missing something.” He didn't want to talk about volleyball with someone who was obviously harboring resentment. But he felt as though he had to press on. Driving out of the small parking lot in front of the store, Daichi said, “I realize Oikawa overshadowed you. But… why do you hate it so much? Is it him?”

Suga kicked weakly at the inside of the car. “I don’t hate Oikawa. He and Iwaizumi are probably my only friends now.” He sighed, looking at Daichi, who was trying to focus on the road. “I won’t bring myself to hate Oikawa. He did… he did say some nasty things, but he apologized.”

“He put you down and you forgave him?”

Suga chuckled. “After a long grudge.” A playful grin on the edge of his lips. “He overworked himself, always has, but he’s actually a pretty okay guy.”

Daichi glanced over at Suga, then turned his eyes back to the road. “And you hate it ‘cause you were never as good as him?”

Suga sighed. “Pretty much. Yeah, he was good, and I was only mediocre, but I always felt…” he paused, looking out the front window. “Whatever, we’re here.”

Daichi wanted Suga to continue.  _ Felt what? _ But the look in Suga’s eyes was obvious. This conversation was for another time. Anyway, this was their first- date? Platonically. This was their first platonic date. They were supposed to be having fun and not talking about Suga’s rocky past.

The coffee shop was relatively small, not a name brand, but it still had its business. Signs advertising new flavors of coffee were hung in the windows, and from what Daichi could see, there was a small counter in the back where the employees worked, and the shop was dotted with tables, a few of them taken.

Suga opened the car door and slid out, Daichi behind him, saying, “It’s a nice place, though I’ve only been once or twice.” He opened the door for Suga, who walked inside.

“Yeah it is a nice pla- oh no.”

“What?” Daichi asked as Suga stepped to the side, allowing for a full view of the coffee shop. It was clean; at first glance he saw nothing wrong. Then a brown haired guy fling himself from his seat at a windowside table, practically running to meet the two at the door, earning himself weird looks from the other patrons.

“Koushi-chan!” Oikawa’s melodic voice rang. 

“Oh no.” Daichi muttered as Oikawa wrapped his fingers around Suga’s wrist, tugging gently. 

“Oikawa, what are you doing here?” Suga asked gently.

“You said that you had a date today, right?” Oikawa replied, tilting his head slightly. Suga’s and Daichi’s cheeks rose with heat. “Iwa-chan and I decided to meet you two!” He pointed back to the windowside table, where Iwaizumi sat, forehead pressed against the table, a cup of coffee clenched in his right hand. “Come on!” He impatiently pulled Suga and Daichi to the counter, so they could order their drinks, then to the table. Oikawa sat next to Iwaizumi, threading his fingers in Iwaizumi’s unattended left hand, then flashed a smile at the awkward two who had just sat down. It seemed as though Oikawa was about to break the silence, but Suga was the first to speak.

“How did you know what time we planned to arrive?” He chose to ignore the ‘ _ date _ ’ statement, which pleased Daichi. “I don’t recall telling you.”

“We’ve been here since the shop opened!” Oikawa chirped. Iwaizumi groaned, lifting his head only to take a swig of the coffee gripped in his right hand. Then he mouthed, “ _ please help me _ ” to the two; Oikawa oblivious to his action, taking a sip of his coffee. The cup was almost overflowing with whipped cream. It spilled over the sides and onto his fingers, but he paid no attention as he was focused on Daichi and Suga.

“This place opened over two hours ago.” Suga muttered. Iwaizumi nodded, his eyes half closed and noticeable bags beneath them. 

“I’ve downed three cups and am working on my fourth.” Iwaizumi said. “I don’t know how Oikawa manages.”

“This is my second cup!” Oikawa exclaimed, whipped cream sitting on the edges of his lips. 

“Oikawa that’s like five percent iced latte and ninety-five percent whipped cream.” Iwaizumi mumbled. Oikawa glanced at him, taking another sip of the whipped cream. Before he could throw a reply, the girl working at the front counter approached, holding two cups of coffee.

“Suga-san, here’s your latte,” The girl smiled sweetly at him, and he mirrored the smile as he took the coffee from her fingers. “And for you, sir.” She handed Daichi his cup. He took it with a small mutter of thanks. The girl fixed Oikawa and Iwaizumi with a confused look, before turning back to Suga. “You know these guys?”

“Yeah, friends from high school. Why, have they been giving you trouble?” Suga answered, sipping his drink.

The girl smiled before replying, “No, not really, they just confused the others when they didn’t leave. Guess they were waiting for you two.” She glanced at them before continuing, “Enjoy your coffee!”

“See you soon, Yuka-chan! Oh, and tell Asami-chan and Chikako-chan I said hello!” Suga called to the girl as she walked back off to the staff room. She blushed, and waved back, before walking through the  _ Employees Only _ door.

“Someone’s popular,” Oikawa said through the foam of the whipped cream. Suga shrugged, lightly spinning his coffee cup in his hands. 

“I’m a regular.” Suga said in response.

There was a beat of silence as the four of them sipped their coffees. Iwaizumi was the first to break it. “Oikawa, you got what you want, can we leave now?” He groaned. Oikawa stared at him, then flicked his eyes over to Daichi. 

“Sure, Iwa-chan!” He squeezed Iwaizumi’s hand, standing up from his chair, coffee in his free hand. “See you around, Koushi-chan! And it was nice seeing you too, Daichi-san, after so many years,” He waved to the two, and Oikawa and Iwaizumi made their way out of the small coffee shop.

Daichi turned to Suga. “Well, that was a mess and a half.”

Suga laughed, the sound making heat creep up into the tips of Daichi’s ears, and said, “Yeah, apparently he heard the news of our plans from the old setter at Karasuno when you guys went to nationals. He called me last night to confirm.” Suga paused to drain some of his latte. “I didn’t know he’d show up here. Should’ve expected it…” He glanced up at Daichi. “So how have you been?”

“Not much changed in the twenty-four hours we were apart,” Daichi chuckled. “But my mom’s party is in a few days. I’m just hoping she’ll like the present, chances are she will. Oh, and thanks. I think I forgot to tell you that.” He smiled gently. That smile alone was enough to make Suga’s heart melt. He felt the remains of his heart puddle up in his shoes. Somewhere. How was he going to survive this friendship.

“You’re welcome,” Suga managed, breaking eye contact for a moment as his cheeks heated up. “And have fun at the party.”

Daichi shrugged. “It’s just going to be a bunch of family. And alcohol. She’ll probably end up passed out drunk like last year.”

“Sounds… interesting.” Suga replied. Daichi laughed.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“Do you drink?” Suga asked, tilting his head slightly. Daichi shook his head.

“No, not really.” He fiddled with the plastic of his coffee cup. “Only if there’s something that’s really bothering me. I guess I just drink away the pain.”

Suga nodded slowly, not sure what to say after that. “Oh. Well, you should text me after the party. Tell me how it goes.” He flashed a smile at Daichi, who  _ swore _ he felt his heart skip a beat. Heat crept up into Daichi’s cheeks.

“Yeah, I will.” Daichi answered.

They finished their coffees shortly afterward. Suga was thinking about ordering another, but he saw the time on his phone.  _ 10:23 _ . Holy crap he had already been sitting here for almost an hour why didn’t he realize it sooner he had customers he needed to tend to. Daichi saw the alarmed look on Suga’s face. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Suga laughed. “I just realized what time it was… Daichi, why didn’t you tell me? I open shop at ten.” He showed his phone screen to Daichi. 

Daichi chuckled. “If I would have known, I’d have had you at your shop twenty minutes ago… I finished my coffee, are you ready to go?”

“Oh, yeah, one second,” Suga said, standing up from the table and moving to the counter, where the girl from earlier was standing. Daichi shadowed him. “Yuka-chan! Can I have another to go?” The girl nodded, pressing some buttons on the register.

“Your total is ¥300. Would your friend like one to go, too?” She asked politely, cheeks flushed a light pink color. Daichi shook his head, and Suga handed over the money to the girl before she went into the back to retrieve the drink, a moment later she stepped back out and was handing over the latte. “Have a nice day, Suga-san!” She chirped; he smiled in response. 

The ride back was filled with relaxed silence. Neither of the two felt like saying anything, and they were both content, although the ride was also extremely short. In no time, Daichi was already pulling up into the parking lot of the antique shop. 

He didn’t want this to be a goodbye, even if it was for only a few days. He longed to spend more time with Suga. He wanted to know what made Suga so dejected towards volleyball, and what did Oikawa say to him back then? But he knew those questions were for another time. He hoped there would be another time. Suga was just so enchanting that way: it seemed everyone around him was pulled in. The girl back at the coffee shop obviously felt that way. Daichi felt that way. Who knows who else ever felt that way.

“Good, no one’s here yet.” Suga sighed. Then he turned and looked at Daichi, coffee in hand. “Thank you for taking me. Even if Oikawa was a little… surprising. I’d love to do it again.” He grinned, teeth showing. “Don’t forget to text me after your mom’s party, maybe we could do something the next day?” Daichi nodded. His throat felt dry. Was Suga blushing, or was he hallucinating? He desperately wanted to reach out, grab Suga’s free hand... 

“You’re welcome.” Daichi managed to say. “And yeah, that sounds great.” He smiled too, he couldn’t help it, Suga was just so mesmerizing…

Before he could process it, Suga had already opened the car door and slid out. It shut behind him, and Daichi watched him enter his store, disappearing into the dark antique wonderland behind the glass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me forever to write because I was so busy last week. Sorry!  
> I also have finals tomorrow and the day after, and I get out of school on Thursday. I should be updating more often after that.  
> I'll try to post chapter four as soon as I can (who knows when that'll be...)  
> Thank you so much for reading! (Seriously, you guys are awesome!) :>


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Daichi's family: a lovely sister, supportive father, and horribly traditional mother.

Daichi wasn’t sure why he was standing here, outside his mother and father’s house- besides the fact that tonight was his mother’s birthday. He hadn’t visited in over a year. Their relationship was held together by only the short, few strings of texts they had sent to each other. They kept him from feeling the guilt he managed to shove aside. His mom would send a ‘ _ How are you doing, Daichi? _ ’ every once in a while, he would respond with short sentences, and then she would say ‘ _ That’s good _ ’ before realizing her and her son had very little in common. Or maybe she had remembered the anger and bitterness she had felt at their last in-person meeting. Daichi didn’t know.

The memory of the last time he saw his mother jumped through his mind.  _ Get a grip, Daichi, _ he told himself,  _ Thinking about it won’t deny what happened. Thinking about it won’t make you any less of a failure of a son… _

__ Daichi walked himself to the door, present in a wrapped box which he carried with both hands. The house hadn’t changed from the last time he saw it- freshly trimmed lawn, neat, dark green bushes laid out in front of the walls of the house, right under the windows, and two small trees on each side of the stone walkway leading up to the front door. It looked like home, smelled like home, yet the atmosphere surrounding the house seemed unrecognizable. A lot had changed since Daichi’s revelation. Almost as if this place wasn’t friendly to him anymore.

He set the box down on the front doorstep, knuckle hovering over the door as he contemplated whether to knock or to just leave- and drive, far away somewhere where these painful memories weren’t resurfacing anymore. He would drive anywhere- to anyone. 

_ Crying was the first thing brought back. His own tears stinging against his face, in his eyes, the sobs that crawled their way through his throat and the others that stayed stuck there. His blurred vision and words strangled by the moisture, humiliation, and anger of his tears. Then was his mother crying- her words harshened by her emotions, her useless attempts at masking the shame she felt so strongly. _

__ _ Then were the words. “Why can’t you be normal like your sister? She was always the perfect child. She never wasted her time on useless sports. She has never stepped out of line. But you… on the other hand…” _

__ _ Then the beginning came back. Daichi was back at his house, standing nervously in the kitchen while his mother prepared a snack for him. “You haven’t been home in so long, Daichi!” She said happily, rummaging through the pantry. After watching his mother, he stopped her. No need to delay the inevitable. She didn’t need to prepare anything. He was going to be leaving soon after, he was sure. _

__ _ After convincing his mother not to make anything, she sat him at the table with a glass of water left untouched, fingers clasping his and her thumb pads running over the calloused surfaces of Daichi’s hands. She was happy that her son came for a surprise visit. She wouldn’t be happy much longer. Daichi stared guiltily into his mother’s eyes before speaking up, his voice a nervous whisper. _

__ _ “We need to talk.” _

__ _ In an instant, his mother’s face filled with shock, quickly masked by confusion, then she held her face with a neutral expression and nodded, squeezing Daichi’s hands. “Anything, Daichi, I’m your mother. I’m here for you.” _

__ _ Daichi knew how his mother would react to this news. In fact, he wanted not to tell her at all- she would live in blissful ignorance, but himself, however, would be eaten up with guilt. Daichi cleared the fear from his mind, taking in a deep breath before uttering the words that he had told himself so many times that he shouldn’t say. _

__ _ “Mom, I’m gay.” _

__ The front door opening swiftly in front of Daichi threw him out of his thoughts and back to the present. Standing there was a girl; she blinked a few times before throwing her arms around him in a hug.

“Dai-niisan, oh, I missed you,” His sister said into his shoulder. Daichi felt her trembling, and hugged her back after the initial moment of surprise. “It’s been so long. And I don’t think Mom has been happy since.” She pulled back slightly, so she could study her older brother’s face.

Daichi’s sister, Eri, was the star child of his family. She always had perfect scores on her schoolwork and tests, and had been attending one of the most prestigious high schools in Japan. She didn’t devote all of her time to club activities, like her brother. And despite her long silky black hair and rich dark brown eyes with enough depth and emotion to make any boy’s heart melt, she always turned down the request for a boyfriend. She kept her studies as her main focus in her life, and it couldn’t have made their mother happier.

Daichi smiled sadly. “I’m sorry,” was all he could say. He didn’t know what to begin apologizing for. Eri frowned, throwing her head back on Daichi’s shoulder and bursting into tears, sobs shaking Daichi as they hugged.

“It’s not you that should be apologizing,” Eri mumbled. She pulled back for good this time, taking her brother’s hand. “But nevermind that. Mom’s as stubborn as usual.” Both of them smiled. “They’re waiting. I’ll walk you inside.”

With their hands still clasped, they picked up the box, each carrying a side. Daichi just followed Eri’s movements, not saying anything. They walked into the kitchen, setting the box on the table along with other wrapped gifts and cards.

“Where is everyone?” Daichi asked, taking his hand back to himself.

“They’re out in the backyard.” Eri pointed near the back of the house. “Tons of friends from Mom’s work are here- she said it wouldn’t be so bad because they brought their children too, but the oldest one is like  _ fourteen _ and she’s going through an emo phase and refuses to talk to anyone. I don’t even know if she counts as someone attending the party, but as Mom says, ‘ _ The more the merrier _ ’!” Eri rambled, gesturing with her hands. Daichi couldn’t hold back his grin. He had forgotten how much he actually missed his sister. “I told Mom, ‘ _ I’m eighteen! I’m not a child and I’m not going to talk to them _ ’!” She laughed, patting Daichi on his arm. “My birthday was eight months ago. Guess she still likes to think of me as a kid…”

“Did the same for me, five years ago,” Daichi recalled, sighing.  _ That was when it was all just so simple. _

Eri rested her hand on Daichi’s shoulder reassuringly. “Hey, it’s alright. I know you don’t want to face Mom after what happened.” She looked into his eyes- sometimes he wished she just looked away. He felt so open and vulnerable to her; she was just good at reading people. “She was livid for the first month, but it’s died down a lot. I don’t think she minds as much anymore. I’ll be with you. If anything happens, Dai-niisan, tell me. If they’re insulting you or calling you names… tell me because then we can get out of this place, okay?” She smiled at him. Daichi put his hand over Eri’s. He nodded. “Let’s go outside.”

Daichi felt his heart bang against his ribcage and claw at his throat. Something was bound to happen if he didn’t control his nerves soon. Eri led Daichi outside, taking slow steps. She slid open the back door and the two walked outside together.

It wasn’t as bad as Daichi first thought it would be. No one seemed to notice his arrival. The back yard was full of guests, most of which he didn’t recognize. He spotted his mother chatting happily to a small group of people, her back to him. Daichi breathed a sigh of relief. Eri squeezed his hand.

“Not so bad, huh?” She asked, smiling. “When she’s alone, I’d go up to her and tell her happy birthday. Then you can get the confrontation over with.”

“Smart as usual, Eri.” Daichi replied, mirroring his sister’s smile. She gave his hand one final squeeze for reassurance.

“Alright, Dai-niisan, I’m going. Get some food, find some people you know, tell them how it’s going. You’ll be fine. And I’ll be close to or in the house if you can’t find me.” With that note, she left, wading her way through the crowds of people.

With a growl of his stomach, Daichi realized he was hungry. He saw a table set up with some food, so he made his way over to it. Just as he was about to grab a bowl, there was a familiar clap on his back.

“Son?” A voice- his father’s voice asked. Daichi turned around, glancing up at his father, who was grinning wide. His black hair was turning gray at its roots, but the way his eyes crinkled and cheeks lifted as he smiled would always be timeless. His father chuckled. “It’s been a while. How are things? Have you talked to your mother yet?”

Daichi couldn’t resist a smile. His father had always treated him and Eri well when his mother had been strict and traditional. “I know. Things are going fine. I-” Daichi hesitated, unsure whether or not he should tell his father about the visit to the antique shop, Suga, and the ‘date’. “I met someone, when I was out getting Mom’s present…”

“A guy?” His father asked. Daichi nodded. It was always so relaxing to have his father supporting him.

“Yeah, he ran the antique shop where I got the present.” He felt his cheeks grow slightly warmer. His father clapped Daichi on the shoulder and chuckled again.

“Well, you met someone. Good for you!” His father lowered his voice and leaned in, glancing around for his mother. “Just don’t bring him here. And use protection.”

Daichi leaned away, laughing. “ _ Dad! _ ” He said, he was sure his cheeks were flaring up with a red color by now. His father was laughing, too.

“I don’t make the rules, I just enforce ‘em.”

The two talked about Daichi’s life for a little while longer, his father not pressing for details about the guy he met just a week ago. They talked about volleyball, Daichi’s job at a nearby sports equipment shop, then the conversation flipped over to Daichi’s dad who informed him of what’s been happening since he’s been gone- Eri starting her third year of high school, his mother getting a promotion and becoming assistant manager of the accounting firm which she worked at (That’s why all the people are here, he says), and his own plans to retire soon.

The sun had long passed the horizon when they both realized how long they had been talking. It was only slightly before sunset when Daichi arrived, and now it seemed to be nearing 10 pm. Some people had already left with their sleepy children, so only most of the adults remained. The children leaving didn’t seem to matter, because they had cracked open beers long before then.

Daichi didn’t realize how long he had been there until his father set a hand on his shoulder and said, “Go talk to your mother. She’s been waiting.”

Daichi would rather not go talk to his mom. He had kind of been avoiding her, wishing that they wouldn’t have to talk. But standing there, with his father smiling down at him reassuringly, he figured that it couldn’t be so bad.

He found his mother sitting in a chair under the tree. She was sipping a beer, and a few empty ones were at her feet. He hoped she wasn’t drunk.

“Mom?” Daichi asked, slowly approaching. His mother looked up, the alcohol making it hard for Daichi to tell how she felt about him being there.

“Daichi…” She whispered, setting the beer down on the grass. Her short, black hair framed her face, making her look much older than fifty-five. She stood, only a few centimeters shorter than Daichi, and looked him in the eyes. “You’ve grown.”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He could smell the alcohol on her breath. She was probably drunk, or getting close to it.

“It’s been a year and a half, Daichi, ever since your twenty-second birthday…” She muttered. “Why didn’t you come back?”

“You know why.” The words spilled out of Daichi’s mouth harsher than he intended. His mother nodded, pausing for a moment before talking.

“It was nice seeing you.” She said, grabbing her beer from the ground and pushing her way past Daichi, making it obvious that the conversation was now over.

_ What did I do wrong? _ Daichi asked himself, walking towards where his mother now stood, surrounded by a group of people her age.  _ I’m not the failure of a son you think me to be. _

Daichi stood by the food table (with all of the food long cold by now), which was only about ten meters from the group. They were talking and laughing so loud, he could hear every word. 

“Did you know my son is here? He bothered to show up.” Daichi’s mom’s voice rang throughout the group and drifted over to Daichi, who stood staring at the grass, turning to face away from the group, anger bubbling in the pit of his stomach. 

“Your son, Kamiko?” Someone asked, using Daichi’s mother’s given name. “You never told us that you have a son.”

“Honestly, I want to forget that I have a son,” Kamiko said, slightly quieter, though Daichi could still hear. He felt his throat tighten up, and he blinked away hot tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. “All he did in high school was  _ volleyball, volleyball, volleyball _ . Not like my sweet angel Eri…” The alcohol in her system harshened the words, slurring slightly. “And he comes home, his twenty-second birthday, just to tell me that he’s gay. Should’ve seen it coming…” The whole group laughed.

The anger made way for shame, rising in Daichi’s chest like a balloon, suffocating him. He wiped at his eyes and walked away before anyone saw him, making his way to inside the house. Eri was in the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge when Daichi hugged her from behind, tears now spilling down his face and being soaked up by Eri’s shirt.

“Daichi?” She whispered, turning around so she could return the hug. “Daichi, are you alright? Do we need to leave?”

Daichi couldn’t bring himself to say any words, he just nodded against Eri’s shoulder. She closed the fridge door and led Daichi out to the front of the house. He wiped away his tears on his jacket sleeve, pulling his car keys out of his pocket and unlocking the car. “Where are we going?” Eri asked gently, sliding in the passenger seat. Daichi climbed into the driver's seat, Eri squeezing his hand.

“The closest bar. I need a drink.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi runs into familiar faces at a bar, and he gets support that he needs.

By the time the two had arrived at the bar, Daichi’s face was only pink and there were no signs of the moisture which once covered it. The bar wasn’t very strict on underage drinking- if you looked the legal age, you were allowed in, so Eri accompanying Daichi wasn’t a huge deal. She wasn’t keen on drinking alcohol, anyway.

The bar itself was relatively small, probably newly opened up, too. He didn’t remember ever seeing it here. The lights were dimmed, giving off a sleepy vibe. A bar stretched along the left wall of the building, stools placed along it. Booths hugged the other walls, and a few small tables filled some empty space. There were two pool tables, and a jukebox off to the side, playing some slow song Daichi didn’t recognize. There were a few people dotted around the small building- sitting at booths, or at the bar- but it wasn’t too crowded.

Daichi slid onto a barstool, Eri on the seat next to him. She kept throwing worried glances at him, but neither of them had said anything since they left the house.

The bartender walked over, a mug in one hand and a washrag in the other. “Daichi?” The bartender said, causing Daichi to look up, eyes widening in surprise.

“Yamaguchi? What are you doing running a bar?” Daichi asked, staring at the guy in front of him. It was Yamaguchi, all right- he had the same splash of freckles dotting across his cheeks and nose, the same friendly smile, and the same hair, although longer and pulled out of his face into a ponytail. He was noticeably taller, and had a more… self-confident atmosphere surrounding him.

Yamaguchi chuckled, setting the washrag on the bar counter. “Tsukki owns the place, and we run it together. Though sometimes it’s just me, ‘cause he still plays volleyball…”

“You didn’t continue?”

“I kept playing in high school. After it… well, sometimes I play with Tsukki. That’s it.” Yamaguchi scratched the back of his neck, grinning, then he saw Eri, and waved at her. “Oh, sorry there. Are you Daichi’s... sister? You look like him.”

Eri nodded, smiling in return. “Sawamura Eri, it’s nice to meet you. How do you two know each other?”

“Yamaguchi Tadashi,” Yamaguchi responded, before answering Eri’s question. “Daichi was the captain of the Karasuno volleyball team when I was in my first year of high school- the year we made it to Nationals.” The reminder of nationals brought a smile to Daichi’s face.

“It’s nice to see a familiar face right now…” Daichi mumbled, his smile falling. Yamaguchi frowned, setting the glass mug on the counter.

“Do you need a drink?” Yamaguchi asked worriedly. “I’ll get you something- first one’s on the house for my old captain.”

“A beer please. I honestly don’t care what brand, give me one you think is good.” Daichi mumbled, leaning his cheek on the heel of his palm, elbow resting against the cold countertop.

“And for you, Eri?” Yamaguchi turned to her.

“A water’s fine.” Eri said with a wave of her hand. Yamaguchi nodded and went to go grab the drinks. Daichi glanced over and saw a familiar tall, blond-haired guy with glasses. He watched Yamaguchi kiss Tsukishima on the cheek before grabbing the drinks. He always figured they liked each other.

Yamaguchi returned with the beer bottle and a cup of water, a light pink blush dusting across his cheeks, contrasting with the brown freckles. He was smiling as he poured the beer into the mug, setting it in front of Daichi. “So, what brings you here?” He slid the cup of water over to Eri.

Daichi sighed, taking a swig of the beer. “My mom,” He muttered, running his thumb over the condensation already forming on the glass. “It’s her birthday today, and I’d thought I’d be nice to her after... “

Yamaguchi tilted his head, frowning slightly again. “What happened, Daichi?”

“It’s been about a year and a half since I saw her in person last, on my twenty-second birthday.” Daichi started; Yamaguchi nodded.

“He’s twenty-three and a half,” Eri whispered.

“I had been holding this secret since I was only eighteen, in my last year of high school. I didn’t dare tell my mother at the time. The thought horrified me. But after four years, I told myself that I needed to tell her. I couldn’t hold it in forever.” Daichi continued. Yamaguchi clenched a washrag in his hand. Daichi looked up at Yamaguchi’s eyes, then smiled sadly. “You know where I'm going with this?”

“Yeah. Had to tell her that you’re gay?” Yamaguchi looked down. “I had a similar problem, back in my second year, except with my dad. He’s really warmed up to Tsukki now, and it’s not a problem anymore.”

Daichi nodded. “Glad it worked out for you… if only it did for me…” He sighed again, before continuing. “My mom’s very traditional. She really wanted us to focus on our studies and become extremely successful. When I told her about my passion for volleyball she was extremely angry, without convincing from my dad I don’t think she would’ve let me play. I barely scraped by on that one. When I told her, a year and a half ago… it was horrible. S-she almost didn’t let me leave.”

_ His mother, standing in front of the door. Her hair was soaked with tears; it was sticking to her cheeks. “You’re not leaving, not before I fix you!” She screamed, desperation in her voice, her movements. Daichi took a step towards her, towards the door, towards his escape. _

__ _ “I’m not the one who needs fixing.” _

__ Tears were falling back down his cheeks again. He didn’t realize it. Daichi drained the rest of his mug. Eri covered his hand with hers, rubbing his palm with her thumb soothingly. Yamaguchi was refilling the mug. “I’m sorry, Daichi.” He whispered. “I’m here. I’ll listen to you.”

“She always told me as a kid,  _ ‘Treat others with kindness, even if they don’t treat you that way.’ _ She preached kindness and love to us  _ so  _ much.” A shuddering breath escaped Daichi’s throat. He took another sip from his mug. “But that day showed me that she doesn’t care for me anymore. She doesn’t listen to herself.”

Yamaguchi rested his hand on Daichi’s forearm reassuringly. “So you had to tell her, she’s been bitter and unkind to you, and now you show up at her birthday party. Did you want to make things right again?” He whispered.

Daichi muttered a “Yeah,” before sipping some more of his drink. “I thought she’d appreciate it if I saw her, but apparently not…”

“I understand.” Yamaguchi said. “She was extremely rude to you.” There was a beat of silence. “Did you like anyone then?”

“No, not really. I just wanted to let her know…” Daichi drained the rest of his mug.

“Do you like anyone now?”

Daichi moved his thumb through the cold condensation on the glass. “Yeah. I met him when I was going to get her present. He runs an antique shop, I figured it’d just be some old lady running the place but- nope, hot guy. We went out for coffee a few days ago.” He wiped at the tears on his cheeks, smiling. 

Yamaguchi laughed, a grin on his face. “You like him a lot, don’t you? You’re smiling, Daichi.”

“Huh? Oh, I guess so.” He pushed the glass towards Yamaguchi so he could refill it.

“Alright,” Yamaguchi said, pushing the now-full mug bag to Daichi. “I’ve got other customers to attend to. Call me over if you need a refill. It was nice seeing you after five years. And it was nice to meet you, Eri.” He smiled at them before heading back off towards Tsukki and conversing with the customers at the other end of the bar.

At the end of Daichi’s third beer, his mind was swimming. He could barely remember the party anymore, or the sadness he felt so strongly earlier. All he could think about now in his drunken state was Suga. The way he laughed, smiled, talked, how he looked in those shorts that morning…

Sometime while he was thinking, Yamaguchi refilled his beer. He just kept drinking more and more until he couldn’t remember the party at all. He drowned his sorrows in alcohol. Eri stayed next to him, hand on his reassuringly. He barely even remembered she was there, she was so quiet that evening.

Eventually, he felt a squeeze on his hand. He glanced down, then followed Eri’s arm up to her face with his gaze. “Daichi, I asked Yamaguchi for the bill. We’re leaving, alright? It’s really late.” Daichi nodded, too dazed from all of his drinking and thinking to properly form a response. He watched Eri hand Yamaguchi the money, thanking him for talking, and then Eri was leading a drunk Daichi out of the building.

The ride home was slow- Eri didn’t drive much, so she was extremely careful taking Daichi back to his apartment. She parked his car outside the complex, leading him up to his room.

Daichi’s apartment was decently small, just big enough for him and maybe one more person. There was a kitchen off to the left when they walked in, and a living room in front of it. There was a hallway to the right with a bathroom, and the place was only furnished with things Daichi needed. Eri led him to his bedroom, and sat him down on his bed.

“Daichi, will you be okay tonight? You’ve had a rough day.” She whispered to him. Daichi drew in a shuddery breath.

“Yeah,” He whispered back. “How are you going to get home?”

“I’ll walk,” Eri answered. “It’s not that far.” She leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek. “Goodnight, Dai-niisan.” They both smiled at the nickname. “Call me tomorrow.” Then she was gone, and Daichi was alone with his thoughts.

The memory of Suga from the coffee shop a few days ago came back. His surprise at seeing Oikawa and Iwaizumi there, his friendliness, his smile,  _ him. _ Sugawara Koushi was so warm, so friendly, so inviting. He was so wonderful.

_ “Don’t forget to text me after your mom’s party, maybe we could do something the next day?” _

__ Suga’s words from the coffee “date” came flooding back to him.  _ Text me _ . Daichi pulled his phone out from his back pocket, the bright light hurting his eyes before they adjusted. He opened up a new text to Suga from his ‘Messages’ app.

What was he going to say? He didn’t want to tell Suga about his mom, or rather,  _ him _ . He typed,  _ ‘hey suga’ _ and sent it. A few minutes later, there was a response.

_ ‘Daichi? What are you doing up so late?’ _

_ ‘latw ?’  _ Daichi’s fingers missed a few keys. He didn’t care.

_ ‘It’s three am.’  _ There was a moment before Suga sent another text.  _ ‘How did the party go?’ _

The party. Right. Daichi sighed, rubbing at his eyes. He really had no idea how to tell Suga. He opened up his ‘Phone’ app and fumbled with the buttons for a minute, then he finally clicked on Suga’s contact and clicked ‘call’. He turned it to speakerphone and flopped on his bed.

“Daichi?” Suga said tiredly, the sound of his voice resonating throughout his apartment. Daichi smiled to himself. “Were you really at the party this late?”

“I left the party a while ago… went to a bar,” Daichi mumbled. Suga sighed on the other end.

“Daichi, are you drunk?”

“Maybe. I don’t care. Feels good. I’m not sad anymore.”

“...Sad? Are you okay? What happened?” Suga asked, now more alert. 

Daichi sighed, running his fingers over the back of his phone. He stared up at his ceiling. “It’s… nothing important…”

“If you’re sad, then obviously it is.” Suga said. “Do you want to meet up tomorrow? Maybe have dinner, or something?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“And you’ll tell me what happened then? ‘Cause drunk Daichi doesn’t like to talk, apparently.” Suga chuckled. Daichi couldn’t resist another smile.

“I will.” Daichi promised. “I’ll tell you…”

Suga yawned. “Alright, I’m going back to sleep. Come by my shop at seven, I’ll text you tomorrow morning to remind you. ‘Night, Daichi.”

“‘Night, Suga.” Daichi mumbled, barely audible. Suga ended the call, leaving Daichi alone in his apartment again. He sighed, turning to lay on his side as he drifted off into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all the comments last chapter!! You rock :*
> 
> I was thinking that from here on out, I'll try to update more often. It took me over a week to write chapter four! I felt so bad about that :c  
> So I wrote this chapter in three days! Hooray for productivity!  
> I'll try to have another chapter out by 6/15, next Wednesday. Stick around until then! And don't forget to leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed :>
> 
> (Also, a question: Should I tag Tsukiyama? I don't know if they'll be coming back later in the fic, so I don't want to since they might only be in this chapter. I won't tag them for now, but if I get a good reason to tag them then I will.)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two couples share fluffy moments while they talk about Daichi and Suga.

Morning came painfully fast for Daichi. He drifted back to consciousness with a raging headache, brain pounding against his skull.  _ What had happened last night?  _ He could barely string any memories together. Everything was just a blur of the alcohol.  _ Alcohol, right. I must’ve been drinking. _ Slowly, Daichi opened his eyes, the light blinding him, before he finally managed to sit up. He felt queasy, tired, and vaguely depressed.

_ Alcohol… _ Daichi thought, trying to recall the events of the previous night. He rubbed at his eyes. Then everything came rushing back at once.

_ The party. His mom. His sister. The bar. Yamaguchi was there. He had too many drinks. Suga’s voice on the other end of a phone call. _

Daichi held his head in his hands for a few minutes.  _ So that’s where the depressed feeling was coming from _ . He felt around his bed for his phone, plucking it from its spot somewhere under the covers and holding it in front of his face. There was a text on his lock screen, from Suga.  _ ‘Don’t forget! Come by my shop at seven for dinner ;)’ _ was typed out. Daichi checked the time,  _ 11:36 _ , before letting his phone fall on the bed and laying back down, shrugging his blankets over his shoulder. He hoped his hangover would pass by seven. Until then, it was looking like he was going to have to take a sick day from work.

 

-

 

Iwaizumi Hajime felt a vibration against his right thigh. He sighed, reaching into Tooru’s back pocket and pulling out his phone. Tooru was asleep, curled up against Hajime, as the two were watching some movie on the couch of their house. Neither of them had really paid any attention to it, anyway.

He scanned over Tooru’s phone, seeing the name  _ ‘Koushi’ _ pop up. Hajime tapped Tooru on the shoulder lightly. “Hey, Tooru, Suga’s calling you,” He whispered.

Oikawa stirred, lifting open his eyelids. “Suga?” He asked sleepily. Hajime nodded. “He’s calling me?”

He handed Tooru the phone, who slowly answered the call and pressed it to his left ear, leaning his head against Hajime’s chest. He adjusted his arms around Tooru, pulling his boyfriend closer. Tooru pulled his knees up to his chest and yawned, mumbling some words here and there to Suga. Tooru glanced up at Hajime then said, “There’s never really been any problems, why?”

Hajime heard Suga’s faint voice on the other end of the phone. “It’s just… last night, Daichi called me. Something happened. T-There was a party, his mom’s birthday party. He went to it yesterday. I told him last week to call me afterward, after the party… so he did, at three am. He said he went to a bar after the party, and he got drunk there. He said… he said he wasn’t sad anymore, after the alcohol.”

“Mhmm.” Tooru nodded, throwing his right arm around Hajime’s neck and tangling it into his hair. “So what’d you do?”

“I tried to ask, but I couldn't get him to tell me anything. I told him to come by my shop at seven, and we could go have dinner and talk about it then.” Suga answered.

“That sounds like the right thing to do,” Tooru muttered. “Iwa-chan, what do you think?”

Hajime set his chin on Tooru’s head, saying, “If he wouldn’t say anything… maybe it’s got something to do with you?”

“Do you think he doesn’t like me?” Suga whispered.

Hajime watched as Tooru’s eyes widened. “No, no, he definitely likes you, Koushi-chan.” His grip on the phone tightened. “I’m not a love expert, and I can’t tell you exactly  _ why _ he didn’t want to speak up. Maybe something happened at the party, and he went to drink away the pain. Something with his family, maybe they’re not the best of families, or maybe someone else there.”

“Oikawa… you’re a genius,” Suga mumbled. “Maybe I’m just too distraught to have noticed.” Tooru smiled, the tips of his fingers trailing across the nape of Hajime’s neck aimlessly.

“Oh, Koushi, thank you, but I’m no genius.” Tooru said softly. “I’m glad I could help.”

“I g-guess I’m just- just so beat up over this, I-” There was a sniffle, from the other side of the phone. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so distressed. It’ll be okay. Hopefully he- he’ll be okay.”

“Oh, Koushi, don’t cry. Does he really mean that much to you…?”

“Look at me. I’ve known him for  _ a week _ . And I’m crying for him. Dammit, I’m so pathetic…” Suga laughed painfully.

“Koushi, don’t say that…” Tooru whispered. “It’s going to be fine.”

“Y-yeah, thank you, Oikawa.” Suga said. “I have a shop to run, now. But thank you for being here for me.”

Tooru nodded. “No problem.” He ended the call and tossed his phone aside, snuggling closer to Hajime, who wrapped his arms around Tooru’s chest.

“So, Suga wanted relationship advice?” Hajime muttered against Tooru’s soft, brown hair. The feeling of Hajime’s warm breath on his head sent shivers down Tooru’s spine (though he  _ had _ felt Hajime’s warm breath in other places much more embarrassing than his head).

“Yep. Did you hear the whole thing?” Hajime nodded in response. Tooru sighed before continuing. “Honestly, it’s  _ so _ obvious that they like each other. I don’t know what Koushi’s worked up about…”

“Tooru, do you remember right before we starting dating? You  _ cried _ when you confessed to me.” Hajime said; Tooru pouted, crossing his arms and glancing up and behind him at his boyfriend’s face.

“I remember…” Tooru grumbled, reaching his hand out and poking Hajime’s nose with his finger. “Then you kissed me, Iwa-chan. And Mattsun walked in on us making out in the locker room, and we had to pay him to keep quiet, although he still told Hanamaki, who told the rest of the team...” Then Tooru turned around in Hajime’s lap so that they were facing each other.

Hajime rolled his eyes. “Don’t act like that,  _ everyone  _ on the team was poking at me.” But there was a slight smile tugging at each of their lips. “But it was worth it. I can’t keep myself off you…” He was leaning in, locking his lips with Tooru’s, who pushed him up against the back of the couch. Hajime shoved Tooru’s shoulder lightly, causing the younger to break away, pouting.

“Weren’t we supposed to be watching this movie?” Hajime asked. Tooru rolled his eyes, huffing.

“Maybe. Yes. I don’t care, you’re not getting out of this one, Hajime,” Tooru said, voice low. Hajime laughed, receiving another pout in response. “I’m serious!”

“You say that every time,” Hajime muttered, wrapping his arms around Tooru’s waist and pulling him closer. Their faces were mere centimeters apart. Hajime watched Tooru glance down at his lips. Then he laughed again, turning Tooru around so they were both facing the tv. Tooru settled down in between Hajime’s thighs, leaning his back against his chest. “And every time I win.” Hajime finished, whispering into Tooru’s ear. He felt a shiver travel down Tooru’s spine.

“You’re no fair…, Iwa-chan…” He gulped, leaning his head back onto Hajime’s shoulder. The two watched the movie for some time, Hajime’s arms wrapped around Tooru’s waist. Neither of them were really paying any attention, instead they were just enjoying being in each other’s presence. There was a time when nothing was really happening in the movie, so Tooru spoke up.

“When d’you think Koushi and Daichi will start dating?” He asked lazily, reaching his hand backwards to tangle it into Hajime’s hair. Hajime pulled Tooru’s hand out of his hair and held it by the side of his thigh.

“I don’t know. They’ll probably kiss tonight. Daichi has to be stupid if he doesn’t realize Suga’s been flirting with him since they met.” Hajime answered, running his thumb in circles on the back of Tooru’s hand.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Remind me to text Koushi tomorrow.” Tooru said with a wave of his free hand.

“I’m not a calendar, Tooru.”

 

-

 

“So why  _ was  _ Daichi at our bar last night?” Tsukishima asked, wiping the kitchen counter of the apartment which he shared with Yamaguchi. It wasn’t too far from the bar they both ran, so getting to work was easy. They had mornings off, so this morning Yamaguchi decided to cook breakfast. He was still at the small table, eating a bowl of rice, while Tsukki was cleaning up.

“He said it was his mother’s birthday party, and while he was there she had been horrible to him. A year and a half ago he had come out to his mom. She hasn’t been happy, to say the least.” Yamaguchi answered, finishing off the bowl of rice. He got up to set the dirty dishes in the sink. Tsukki looked at him for a moment.

“I’m not cleaning that,” He said, pointing the the bowl. Yamaguchi rolled his eyes. “But Daichi’s gay? I never would have guessed.” Tsukki pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, an odd habit he never really grew out of, Yamaguchi noticed.

“Yeah, he said he realized it in his third year, but waited four years to tell his mom. Poor guy, it must’ve eaten away at him forever.” Yamaguchi shook his head. “I asked him if he liked anyone then, he said no, and if he liked anyone now. He likes this guy who runs an antique shop? I don’t know who he’s talking about.”

“Maybe it’s that one down at the edge of town, you know, kind of near that one shopping center, kind of pushed back against a huge grove of trees. I’ve been there once, and the guy who runs it is  _ so  _ friendly.” Tsukki replied, tossing the dirty dish rag he was using to wipe the counter on Yamaguchi’s hand, resting on the countertop. Yamaguchi pushed the rag away. Tsukki continued, “He gives off a mom feeling. If that makes any sense.” Yamaguchi laughed.

“A mom feeling? That sounds… oddly fitting?” Yamaguchi said, walking out of the kitchen and into the small living room of the apartment. Morning sunlight was streaming through the half-open blinds in thick rays, illuminating the small couch, television, and various other furnishings that dotted the apartment. Tsukki followed, settling down on the couch as Yamaguchi turned on the TV and closed the blinds a little bit more.

“Yeah.” Tsukki mumbled as Yamaguchi sat down next to him, leaning his head on Tsukki’s shoulder, who snaked an arm around his waist to pull him closer. There was some news program on the TV, and Yamaguchi laid a blanket over them as they sat down to watch it.

Slats of light escaped from the windows and fell down over the both of them. While Yamaguchi stared at the television screen, Tsukki looked at him.

“Tadashi?” Tsukki heard himself say.

“Hm?” Yamaguchi turned towards him. Tsukki felt his breath catch in his throat, like it always did when he saw Yamaguchi. Of course, he’d never admit that aloud.

Tsukki parted his lips slightly to speak, but no words were forming. Yamaguchi chuckled- light, airy, and cute, as it always was- then he leaned closer.

“I love you too, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi whispered, pressing their lips together; Tsukki smiled, a fervent blush quickly rising on his face.

 

-

 

Daichi stood in front of a door. More specifically, a door to a small, antique resale shop tucked away in a neat corner of Miyagi. But this time, he stood here for a different reason.

He looked in the window, but he couldn’t see Suga in the main part of the shop.  _ Good _ . He was still mentally preparing himself.

Daichi wrung his hands on the sleeves of his button-down shirt. He wanted to look decent for the ‘date’, so he had tried to make himself look presentable. Hopefully Suga would appreciate it.

Normally, Daichi wouldn’t have been so worried or nervous. Every time his mind drifted back to the prospect of dinner with Suga, he remembered his conversation. He remembered how the alcohol loosened his tongue, and how he had let his feelings slip. At least he hadn’t confessed his undying love for Suga… that would have been much more awkward.

But he didn’t want to tell Suga about his mom. He knew the silver-haired man wouldn’t let the topic slip away. He knew that at this dinner, he was going to have to tell Suga about his mom, about him, and about his… feelings.. And he wasn’t sure how any of that was going to turn out.

Daichi sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He wiped his sweaty palms on his shirt one final time, before setting his hand on the door and pushing it open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would have had this chapter done by yesterday, but I was so busy!! I'm sorry :(
> 
> Anyway... hooray for repeating the first two sentences of the story in this chapter!!  
> And you're welcome for the IwaOi and TsukkiYama fluff. (((; (Especially after so much angst oml)  
> I really did want to bring them into this story much more, so I figured a good time to do so would be this chapter.  
> Next chapter will feature the dinner date... which I'm so excited to write! So give me the time to make it the best it can be. It'll probably be a week before I have chapter 7 up.  
> Stay tuned, and leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feelings are shared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I am SO SORRY I didn't have this out sooner. KyouHaba week took up a lot of my time last week, but it was a fun experience, although I really didn't get any time to write this. The only reason I actually have this chapter out today is because I'm going to be busy until Friday and I'll have absolutely no time to write. I was planning to post it Wednesday, but I won't even have access to post to AO3 for three days. Which means the next chapter might be delayed slightly, since I won't get to start it until Friday- but probably not. I'm thinking of posting on a regular schedule, like every Wednesday or something, but I'm not sure yet. Also, if you've noticed, I've updated the fic so it is out of 16 chapters. Last night I took the time to write a ~2,000 word outline (instead of this chapter, I know) of the whole story, so I know what's all going to happen, and how many chapters there will be.
> 
> But before this chapter actually starts, I have to thank my ~~crush~~ friend for giving me motivation to write. And by motivation, I mean he texted me pictures of really sad kittens so I would stop distracting myself and actually write.

Suga was combing through his hair for the eighth time when he heard the jingle of the bells hanging in front of his shop’s door. Slowly, he set the comb down on his bathroom counter, a shuddery breath running through his body. His heart was pounding, similar to when they had gone out to get coffee (it was pounding the whole time, but he had gotten used to it). Now, after not speaking to Daichi for a few days, and not having to submit himself to it, the feeling was foreign. He was tossed out of his thoughts by a yell of his name- it was Daichi’s voice, no doubt- and with another breath and a quick scan of his outfit, he was out in the open of his shop.

“Hey, Suga,” Daichi said, smiling. Suga mirrored the smile, shutting the door to the personal part of his shop behind him. Daichi was dressed in a button-down shirt, which perfectly showed off the contours of his muscles, Suga realized. He also wore a pair of jeans, and had his hair neatly combed. Suga felt his hand reach up to his own hair and smooth it self-consciously.

“Hey, Daichi. Are you feeling any better?” Suga asked. Daichi sighed, and he shifted his gaze downward.

“Yeah, the hangover’s passed.” He answered. Suga nodded. They both knew he didn’t fully answer the question, but they didn’t mention it. “So where are we going to eat?”

Suga stared at Daichi for a moment before answering with a laugh, “I forgot to think of a place.” Daichi laughed, too.

“Well, what did you have in mind?” He asked. Suga tilted his head slightly, thinking.

“There’s this really good restaurant with my favorite food. It’s not too far from here, and I go whenever I can actually pry myself away from the shop,” Suga answered, “And it’s not very fancy.”

“Sounds great,” Daichi said. They took a few steps out of the shop, then Suga turned to turn off the lights and lock the front door. Daichi unlocked his car while he waited, and the two climbed in.

“So where’s that place you mentioned?” Daichi asked, turning on the engine and driving out of the small parking lot.

“Just drive past the coffee shop and take a left, and it’s really close to the city gym. The one where the neighborhood volleyball team practices.”

Daichi nodded. “Yeah, and it’s also really close to Karasuno. I’ve been there a few times with the team before, and I really like their ramen,”

The two talked aimlessly, returning to their conversations which included no awkwardness, like the week before. It was nice, especially for Daichi, because he didn’t have to focus on the fact that he was going to have to tell Suga.

The restaurant was not very big- just a small building at the edge of a row of shops, and it wasn’t very fancy, either. The outside was decorated with small paper lanterns and words written on the glass, advertising new foods they served, and the inside was filled with tables and booths. It was decently crowded, with a few booths taken and most of the tables full. The building was warm as they entered, and it smelled distinctly of freshly-cooked fried rice.

A waitress led them to a booth and handed them two menus, before telling them their server would be right with them and leaving. Suga scanned the menu once, then set it down.

“I know what I’m getting already,” Suga said, “super spicy mapo tofu.” There was a smile on his face, and Daichi stared at him.

“ _ Super _ spicy…?” Daichi asked, and Suga nodded, laughing.

“I have a high spicy tolerance. You could say I live my life by  _ seasoning _ the moment.” Suga whispered.

“You know, I thought maybe, just maybe, you  _ wouldn’t  _ be the kind of guy who cracked a pun every five minutes.” Daichi grumbled, still scanning the menu, but he was smiling.

“Oh come on. It’s been a week, Daichi. That’s already long enough without a pun.” Suga waved his hand. Daichi closed his menu, not suppressing the smile on his face. 

A waiter walked over, and asked for their drink orders- Daichi ordered a water and Suga ordered a green tea. They also ordered their food- Shoyu ramen for Daichi and super spicy mapo tofu for Suga. The waiter thanked them and headed back off into the kitchen.

“So, Suga, why’d you quit volleyball?” Daichi asked, drumming his fingers on his leg underneath the table. Suga looked up at him, then shrugged and glanced away.

“Well, you know how Oikawa was pretty much better than me at everything volleyball- related. I did so well in junior high, then when I went into high school, I was looked down upon.” Suga sighed, pausing when the waiter returned with their drinks, and he sipped his green tea before continuing. “And I never really… I never really felt like I  _ fit in _ there, at Seijoh. So I left after my first year.”

“You never… fit in?” Daichi asked, his hand around the cold glass of ice water.

Suga nodded. “Yeah. I felt like I was never fitting in there. All the third years and second years knew each other really well, and all the other first years were really good friends…, except for me. I was always the odd one out, and was never a regular in matches.” Suga looked up at Daichi, who was frowing. He smiled sadly at the old memories, and reached a hand across the table to set on Daichi’s, who blushed slightly at the contact but didn’t resist it.

“Maybe you’d still be playing if you just went to Karasuno instead?” Daichi asked, and Suga shook his head.

“Maybe. My parents wanted me to go to a really good high school, so we moved closer to Seijoh after junior high. But now I’m just… selling antiques.” Suga sighed, taking his hand back to hold his tea as he sipped more.

“Do you enjoy it?”

Suga nodded, tracing the contours on the outside of the glass cup with this finger. “Yeah. I guess, but sometimes it’s kind of a reminder nowadays… My mom, she was the one who got me into antiquing. But she... passed away a few months ago.” He frowned, staring at his teacup and not Daichi.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“No, it’s alright now. My father and I… were really shaken up about it. But we’re okay now.”

“That’s good to hear.” Daichi said, sipping some of his water.

As the conversation slowed down, the waiter arrived with their food, setting it in front of them and asking if they needed anything else. They thanked him, shifting their attention towards their food as the waiter walked away to attend to other customers.

“So, Daichi,” Suga said, chewing on his tofu, “We haven’t really talked about you very much tonight, have we?”

Daichi forced a nervous laugh as he picked up his chopsticks. “No, I guess not.”

“We’re only going to be at dinner for so long… you might as well tell me what’s been going on. Are you okay?” Suga asked.

Daichi poked at his ramen. So far, he had barely touched it. He shifted in his seat, then looked up at Suga. “It’s my mom. She’s very… traditional.”

“Traditional…? Daichi, what do you mean?”

Daichi sighed. “Listen, I- I don’t really want to talk about it here. Somewhere else, somewhere that’s not crowded…”

“Yeah.” Suga nodded, eating some more of his tofu. “We can go somewhere else after this. Where do you have in mind?”

Daichi shrugged. “I guess I’ll figure something out,” He said, drawing a gentle laugh from Suga. Daichi smiled, before returning to his ramen. They talked lightly about the restaurant itself- Suga was mainly praising the chefs for making his favorite dish exactly how he likes it, with Daichi listening. The sun slowly dipped in the sky, and soon it was already behind the buildings in the distance and leaving the town with the slightest of pink glows. Daichi set his chopsticks down after he ate the last bit of his ramen, and Suga had already been waiting for him to finish- he had downed his his whole plate in five minutes.

“So, have you thought of something yet?” Suga asked while waiting for the waiter to arrive with their receipt so they could pay. He laced his fingers under his chin, setting his elbows on the table. Daichi shrugged.

“I think so.” Daichi said, his legs almost shaking from just being nervous. Suga nodded as the waiter approached them, and he paid in the exact change. The waiter thanked them for coming before heading off to another table.

“Come on, let’s go.” Suga stood up, Daichi following, and the two left the restaurant, the smell of fried rice disappearing behind them as they walked out onto the street, air warm from the summer heat and a cloudless night sky above. Suga looked up, staring at the limitless stars. They reminded him of the night that they first met, how he was sitting in his shop in the middle of the night as he watched the moonlight glitter against his antiques. He remembered what he whispered that night, and maybe, just  _ maybe _ , he thought he could tell Daichi.

Suga shook the thought away as he climbed into the passenger seat of Daichi’s car.  _ Tonight is for him, not for me _ .

“There’s this place, at the edge of the town,” Daichi said as he drove, tapping his fingertips against the back of the wheel. Suga glanced over. “It’s this cliff at the top of the mountain, and it gives a really good view of the whole landscape. I-It’s really out of our way, but-”

“No. I think it sounds perfect.” Suga gave a reassuring smile, which Daichi mirrored. About twenty minutes into the drive (with both of them not saying much, but it was a comfortable kind of silence), Daichi pulled off the road up the mountain and into a small grove of trees, which opened up to a cliffside. He parked the car near the place he entered.

“Is this it?” Suga asked, sliding off his seatbelt and slipping out of the car. “It  _ is  _ pretty.”

“Yeah. I’ve been here before, five years ago.” Daichi muttered, already out of the car. He walked over to the unguarded cliffside and sat in front of it, his legs dangling off the edge. Daichi’s heart was pounding so fast against his chest, as if it was going to leap out and tumble down the mountain, all the way back into the town. He smiled, focused on the view in front of him as he saw Suga sit next to him out of the corner of his eye. A gentle breeze picked up, blowing strands of Suga’s hair out of his face. Daichi glanced over.

“Why were you here back then?” Suga looked over at him.

Daichi sighed. “It was back in my third year of high school, and I was with one of my friends. I was… planning on telling him something important. The whole team was up here, anyway, but everyone else was messing around in the woods, so we were pretty much alone.”

“Does the thing you told him have anything to do with what you’re going to tell me?” Suga asked with a quirk of the edges of his lips.

Daichi nodded. “I don’t know why I made such a big deal out of it back then. When I told him… he stared at me, and I thought,  _ ‘Oh no’ _ , then he burst out laughing. He said,  _ ‘Daichi, I thought you were about to tell me that you killed a man,’ _ ” He continued, smiling at the memories of his high school years. Suga placed his hand on Daichi’s forearm, and it was that moment Daichi realized how  _ close _ they were. Not just the fact that they were sitting together, but also how much they had shared so far. And Daichi was still hesitating to tell Suga. He sat there, his hands clenched in the dirt beneath him. Daichi chewed at his bottom lip, still silent.

He was sitting on the edge. And if he told Suga, it could all blow up in his face, and send him- well, metaphorically, at least- tumbling down the slope. But Suga could also pull him up.

It was safe for Daichi to say his life was in the hands of another.

That was something he had always had a problem with.

Daichi took a deep breath, placing his hand over Suga’s, who held it. “When I told him, he was totally okay and accepting. I was so happy. But recently, I’ve made the decision to tell my mom, who was a lot less accepting than my friend.” Daichi sighed. “It was my twenty-second birthday, a year and a half ago. When I visited my old childhood home to tell her, it was…”

Suga frowned. “She wasn’t okay with it?”

“She wasn’t.” Daichi looked down, back at the city, sprawled in front of them. Small specks of light from the buildings shone in the distance, like the stars above them. “And yesterday, at the party, I tried to talk to her, but she was just bitter to me. And then, she shit-talked me to her friends.”

“I’m sorry, Daichi.” Suga looked down, following his gaze.

“My sister was there to help me through it,” Daichi said. “And an old friend owned the bar that I visited afterward. He was super friendly, too.”

“If I know what’s going on, I can help.” Suga offered, squeezing Daichi’s hand. He looked up, at Suga, and suddenly, time seemed to slow down.

He was sitting there, the moonlight casting a pale glow on Suga’s light skin. The warm breeze drifted around them, seemingly pulling them together. Their faces were mere centimeters apart as Suga looked up, too.

And slowly, Daichi felt Suga’s arms come up around his neck, and he felt his wrap around Suga’s waist, and he caught a glimpse of Suga’s long eyelashes as they fluttered closed, his following. And then their lips were pressing together.

Suga pulled back, his eyes open wide. Daichi almost felt his heart drop.

“Sorry. Oh my gosh, I’m so,  _ so _ sorry. I’m supposed to be helping you. Kissing you isn’t helping you. You’re probably not even….. I- I-” Suga was shut up by Daichi leaning in, kissing him again. Suga let his worry melt away, and when they pulled back again, he leaned forward, pressing his forehead to Daichi’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” Suga mumbled, his cheeks and the tips of his ears heating up. Daichi smiled and hugged him.

“Don’t be.”

Suga sat up. “So what’s the problem with you and your mom? Or do I already know?”

Daichi laughed. “After that, I’m pretty sure you already know.”

Suga sat his chin on his knuckles in fake thought. “No, it wasn’t clear. Let’s try it again.” He grinned, leaning forward, and Daichi did too. When their lips connected for the third time that night, Daichi felt his heart do a little flutter. Suga’s arms came back up around his shoulders, and he smiled into the kiss, which caused Daichi to smile, and when they parted they were grinning like the only dorks in the world.

“I didn’t imagine it would go like this,” Daichi said, kicking his feet in the air sheepishly.

“So you’ve gone over this conversation before in your head?”

Daichi laughed. “Yeah,” he admitted.

They sat there for a while, Daichi’s arm around Suga’s waist, and Suga leaning his head on Daichi’s shoulder as both of them turned toward the vast landscape in front of them. The whole town was laid out, lights twinkling far, far away. 

As Suga stared up at the sky, a thought struck him. “Did you know that the first day I saw you,” Daichi turned to face Suga as he was talking, “I wished for you to realize how I felt?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, hot guys don’t just walk into my store on a daily basis, Daichi.” Suga said, and Daichi’s cheeks heated up.

“W-well, I don’t walk into antique stores and expect the prettiest guy I’ve ever seen to walk out from the back room.” Daichi responded, which caused Suga to laugh.

“Glad to know the feeling was mutual from the very beginning.”

“Yeah,” Daichi smiled, pressing a kiss to Suga’s temple. “Well, we should probably go home. It’s already getting late, and I don’t want you to be tired for work tomorrow.”

“W-wait, Daichi,” Suga said quickly, “does this mean we’re dating now?”

“Oh, I totally forgot,” Daichi said, “Will you be my boyfriend?”

Suga nodded, grinning. “Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this too cheesy?
> 
> I don't know. I kind of just wanted to post this chapter _really bad_. I couldn't leave you guys on such a cliffhanger for too long, and if I didn't finish it tonight, well... It wouldn't get uploaded until Friday.
> 
> On another topic, I've also been binge watching anime. A few I've seen so far are- Boku no Hero Academia, Bungou Stray Dogs, and I'm currently watching Owari no Seraph. If you're looking for some animes to watch, they're really good and not very long. I doubt I'll write anything on them, though.  
>  ~~(and I've also been playing danganronpa because I've seen the anime for that but I just recently got the game and its really good you should check it out)~~
> 
> That's all for now! Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you all next time :3


	8. Chapter 8

There was now a light breeze quickly drifting throughout all of Miyagi- one which signaled the ending of the spring months and the starting of the summer season. The sun was already starting to beat down to the earth and through the windows of the small antique shop. Sometimes it made for a sort of homey feel in the building, which might have been the reason more customers were showing up recently. Though no matter the reason, the fact remained that the shop was starting to earn more money. More business was always a nice thing for Suga.

“Daichi! Thanks for watching the store while I picked this up,” Suga yelled into the store as he shoved the front door open with his foot, because both of his arms were occupied with a huge box which was almost overflowing with new wares. Daichi jumped a little, still standing behind the check-out counter boredly, exactly as he was when Suga left. “Would you mind giving me a hand unpacking and pricing them?”

“I don’t think I’ll be much help with pricing…” Daichi said as he walked over to the front door, taking the box from Suga. It was kind of heavy, but he carried it anyway. Suga flashed a smile.

“Over there,” He said, pointing to an empty table sat up against one of the huge windows making up the front wall of the store. “We can set them all there.”

As soon as Daichi placed the box on the table, Suga snaked an arm around his waist, planting a kiss on his cheekbone. “Don’t worry, I can do the pricing, if you’ll help take them out.” Daichi blushed, rubbing the spot where Suga’s lips were just a moment ago.

“We’ve been dating a month, and you still make me flustered,” Daichi said, causing Suga to laugh and hug him with both arms.

“Happy monthiversary, Daichi,” Suga replied before moving forward to lift the flaps of the  cardboard box. Daichi took a step forward, too, helping Suga take out the antiques. There seemed to be endless amounts of old but pretty plates, spoons, cups, forks, and even vases, and when the box was unpacked, all the things filled every centimeter of the table. Suga took a step back, picking up the box and setting it aside as he took a look at the goods as a whole.

“How am I supposed to arrange these…?” Suga mumbled to himself, tilting his head to the side. Daichi smiled, and took a step back to stand next to him. It was his turn to wrap his arms around Suga’s shoulders. Suga turned his head to look at him, then smiled as Daichi brought his hand up to cup Suga’s cheek, both leaning closer.

“You’re such a sap.” Suga muttered, his breath hot against Daichi’s lips. Daichi chuckled, pressing their lips together in a swift motion. He hoped that Suga couldn’t feel his heart banging against his chest, as it did every time they had kissed since the first one a month ago, legs dangling off the cliffside, a map of endless stars above them, and the distanced lights and sounds of the town below their feet. Daichi was so engulfed in his thoughts that after a minute, Suga was the one to slowly pull away, his cheeks dusted with a light pink. Daichi brushed a lock of silvery hair behind Suga’s ear with his thumb.

“I’m sorry that you’re pretty.”

“Whatever, Daichi, we need to get back to work. I don’t have you around here all day to kiss me all the time.” Suga wormed out from under Daichi’s arms and back over to the table, rearranging the antiques into a design that looked nice and showed off all the wares. Daichi rolled his eyes, stepping forward to stand next to Suga.

“You kind of do. I mean, I still have to work weekdays at the sports equipment store, and I’m not earning money here. I’m around because you’re my boyfriend and I love you.”

Suga’s ears and cheeks immediately turned  _ red _ . He turned toward Daichi, setting a plate back down onto the table. “I-I love you too-”

“Come on, don’t play it off cool. You look like a tomato.”

“Shush!” Suga yelled, karate-chopping Daichi on his side, then turning back to the table to move a vase.

Daichi shook his head, rubbing the spot where Suga had karate chopped him. It kind of hurt, almost. “So who gave you these?”

“There was this really nice old lady who frequented the store, and her daughter recently had to move her in with her family and sell her house. She didn’t want to just throw away the antiques, or put them in storage to never see the light of day again, so they called up the store and asked if I wanted them. For free, too.” Suga explained, finishing up his arrangement of the antiques. “Now I just need my blank price tags and a pen…”

“Behind the counter, right? I’ll go get them.” Daichi offered, brushing his hand over Suga’s before walking over to the check-out counter. He extracted a small box of little pieces of paper and a pen, then headed back over. He set the things in Suga’s hand.

“Thanks, Daichi,” Suga said, beginning to take out the little pieces of paper and scribble prices over them. Daichi watched, only thrown out of his thoughts when the front doorbell chimed. Suga glanced up and smiled warmly at the customer- a small girl probably around the age of seventeen, and dressed in the barista uniform for the coffee shop down the road.

“Yuka-chan!” Suga greeted, causing the girl to jump in her shoes and her face to turn pink. She twirled a lock of brown hair around her finger nervously.

“H-hey, Suga-san,” The girl stuttered. “I-It’s, um, my lunch break, and I wanted to s-stop by here… I’ve never visited before…” She began to walk around the shop, examining the antiques placed all over tables and cabinets and dressers.

“Well, if you wanted to look around, that’s alright. I’m just pricing all of these.” Suga answered, sticking a price tag to a spoon.

“Wh-who’s that?” Yuka asked Suga, pointing at Daichi. Suga glanced up and looked over at Daichi, whose face was pink. Suga laughed.

“That’s my boyfriend, Daichi. He’s helping out.” Suga answered honestly. Daichi thought he saw Yuka’s expression fall for a moment, before masked by a smile.

“Oh, um… I came here ’cause… I wanted to ask you out to lunch, but now…” Yuka looked down at her shoes. “I’m sorry. I’ll go now.”

“No, Yuka-chan, it’s alright. If anything, I’m sorry that I have to turn you down. But you’ll find someone, alright? Just start talking to some other guys at the coffee shop, or at your school. I’m too old, anyways.” Suga said with a chuckle.  _ It was even graceful how he turned girls down, _ Daichi thought. “Though we should probably get something to eat soon. I’ll finish pricing these. Feel free to see if you want to buy anything while you’re here, Yuka-chan.” Suga continued, turning back around to the table and picking up another small price tag. Yuka nodded, and continued wandering around the store, trying to hide her heartbreak. Daichi turned back around with Suga.

“What do you think, Daichi? Should these spoons be ¥250 individually or ¥600 for three?” Suga asked, his pen touching the tip of the paper. Daichi shrugged.

“¥600 for three sounds good. Are you almost done?”

“Almost.” Suga answered. Silence filled the store as Suga continued pricing some more items, and Yuka walked the store nervously. She stopped at a small collection of candles. She picked up a dark red one and turned towards Suga.

“Uh, Suga-san?” She asked, gaining his attention as he turned around, a delicate smile still on his face. “C-can I buy this?”

“Of course,” Suga said, still holding his pen. “Daichi will help you at the counter over there.” He pointed to the counter in the back.

“You know that you’re better with the customers.” Daichi sighed, making his way to the counter, Yuka following him timidly. “May I see the candle?”

Yuka’s eyes widened and she nodded quickly, handing the candle over. Daichi found the price tag. “Your total is ¥350.” He said, setting the candle back onto the counter as Yuka fished for the money out of her purse. She handed it over to Daichi.

“I’m sorry, Daichi-san,” She muttered, eyes not meeting his. “I didn’t realize y-you two were… and I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Like Suga said, it’s okay. You’ll find someone else.” Daichi said reassuringly while he put the money into the register. “Your change is ¥150. Have a nice day, Yuka-chan.” He pushed the candle and change toward her with a smile, and she took it. Yuka smiled at him, too.

“Thanks, Daichi-san. And thank you too, Suga-san,” Yuka said on her way out of the store. “Come back to the coffee shop soon, you two!” Suga looked up as she left through the front door, the bells chiming on her way out.

“She seems a little happier. Good job cheering her up, Daichi.” Suga said as Daichi moved away from the counter, and over to the table. “I’m on the last vase, then we can go grab something to eat. Why don’t we try that new restaurant that opened up by the coffee place?”

“That sounds good, but…” Daichi said, now next to Suga. He put an arm around Suga’s waist. “Why don’t we go to my apartment, and I cook for us?”

Suga glanced up as he stuck the last piece of paper on the vase. “That sounds great! You should have told me that you cooked...”

Daichi shrugged as Suga moved away to pick up the empty box. “Never really found a time to mention it. But I have the ingredients for yakisoba bread if you want me to make it.”

“That’s perfect.” Suga said. “Let’s go.”

 

One thing Daichi noticed over the month he had been dating Suga was that his apartment was actually really close to the antique shop, which was one of the reasons that he came down there in his free time. It was only a ten minute walk away, so the mornings he didn’t have to work, he found himself traversing the familiar road all the way down to the shop.

“You need to decorate your place more.” Suga suggested as they entered the apartment, sweating from the walk in the summer heat. Daichi shrugged off the neighborhood association volleyball club jacket onto his couch.

“It works for me.”

“It’s so… minimalistic.” Suga said, looking around the whole apartment, taking it all in for the first time. 

Daichi smiled. “I’m fine with that.” Suga shook his head in disapproval.

“Come on Daichi, I know you’re less boring than  _ this _ .” Suga said, gesturing wide to the whole apartment.

“We’re here for me to cook, not for you to analyze my living choices. I have some noodles in the fridge if you’d get them out for me.” Daichi said, Suga sighing and beginning to take out the ingredients. Daichi joined him in the kitchen, hugging him from behind.

“Daichi, I can't help you if you’re hugging on the me the entire time,” Suga sighed, worming out from under his arms. “Now help me, you’re supposed to be the one cooking.”

“I’m trying to be  _ romantic _ , Suga.” Daichi laughed, opening the fridge to take out the pork, cabbage and other ingredients.

They cooked like that for a while, most of the time Suga was observing while Daichi showed him how to prepare it. Daichi had learned a lot of cooking techniques from his dad, who worked as a chef at some place in town. When the food was done, Daichi piled the yakisoba noodles onto two buns, and they sat down at Daichi’s small kitchen table.

“Daichi….” Suga muttered, his yakisoba bread stuffed into his mouth. “This is  _ really _ good.”

“Has anyone ever told you to not talk with your mouth full?” Daichi asked, a smile tugging at his lips as he ate. Suga shrugged dismissively, continuing to wolf down his food.

“You said your father was a chef, right?” Suga asked. Daichi gave a small nod. “You really should follow in his footsteps. You’re  _ great _ at this. Open up a small restaurant or café somewhere, and you’ll have  _ so _ much business.” Suga perked up in his chair. “There’s even an empty building next to my antique shop, I mean  _ right next door! _ The people there before  _ just _ sold it back to the city. It’s perfect! We can work right next to each other!”

Daichi sighed. “I don’t know. Opening a restaurant was a lot of work for my dad, and I’m not sure I’ll go through with it. Plus, I make enough money at the sports store…-”

“But do you like your job there?”

“It makes money.”

“But do you  _ like it?” _

“I suppose I’d rather have an excuse to be around you all day.” Daichi said with a smile as Suga finished up the last of his yakisoba bread.

“So are you going to consider it?” Suga asked, almost shaking in his seat.

“I’m not sure yet, Suga. I’d love to work by you, but this sounds like some child’s fantasy. Something we just made up on the spot.” Daichi set the last bit of his yakisoba bread down.

“You should definitely think about it,” Suga said, pulling out his phone from his pocket. “This was a wonderful lunch, Daichi, but I have to get back to work.”

“And I have to work later, too.” Daichi said, standing up and taking their plates. “Are you alright walking back alone, or should I walk with you…?” He asked, putting the dirty dishes into the sink.

“Nah, it’s okay.” Suga said with a wave of his hand. He hugged Daichi before he pulled him down into a kiss. They pulled apart, lips still millimeters away. “Be at the store same time tomorrow, Daichi? And you can cook for me again at lunchtime. Or we could try that restaurant.”

Daichi brought his lips to Suga’s again, his breath hot against the other’s lips. “Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~this chapter was 100% fluff~~
> 
>  
> 
> Well, if you enjoyed, then good news! Every chapter from here on out will also be 100% fluff. Except like, most of chapter fifteen. and the chapter after that is the epilogue, and since the nature of chapter fifteen, I've decided to release 15 and 16 together. I'll say it again when I post chapter fourteen for those who miss it/forget. :3
> 
> I'm also going to start writing a lot more. I just have a lot of motivation after having to take a few days as break, and especially since I know what I'm doing with this fic now. I'm looking to finish this fic a week or two before my school starts back up again, because I really want to start a YakuNoya one-shot. there is _not_ enough fics in the yakunoya tag here. (It's my favorite rarepair and I need it)
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and have an awesome week :3


	9. Chapter 9

“Do you think it’d be a good idea?” Daichi asked into his phone, sitting on his couch in his apartment. The blinds were closed with only the smallest slivers of light pouring through, illuminating the room in slits. If it wasn’t his apartment, Daichi thought he’d consider it creepy.

“Yeah, if you’re not planning on going pro with volleyball, anyway.” A male voice on the other end answered. “You’re a great cook, Daichi. Remember when you made ramen for the entire team after we won nationals?”

Daichi nodded as if the guy on the other side could see, smiling as he remembered his days at Karasuno. “Thanks, but I don’t think I can run a café alone. I’ll need to hire some other people…”

“Is this where we come in?”

“Yeah. You’ll come help me, right?”

“Of course. I’m not sure about him, though I think he’d jump at the opportunity to see you again and work for you. Are you sure three people running it is enough?”

Daichi laughed. “He has enough charisma to be the lone waiter, and we can stay in the kitchen all day. It won’t be a very big café.”

“...Alright, Daichi. If you’re confident, then I guess I’m confident in you, too. You still have a lot of preparation to do. Who’s going to supply you with ingredients, who’s going to install all the appliances, how are you going to get a license-”

“Calm down, I’ll be fine. Give me another month and I’ll have it open for business.”

“If you say so.”

Daichi’s phone began ringing against his ear. He pulled it back, staring at the screen.

“Suga’s calling, I’ll call you back later, alright?”

“Okay, Daichi. And your boyfriend sounds wonderful, I can’t wait to meet him.”

“You sound like my dad.”

With a tap of a button, Daichi ended the call he was having with his old friend, and answered the call from Suga. He wasn’t going to tell Suga that he  _ had _ been looking into the idea of opening up a café near his antique shop until later- for now, he’d keep it as a surprise.

“Hey, Suga.” Daichi said, drumming his fingers against the back of his phone case.

“I just thought of something fun! How about I take you on a mystery date?” Suga responded.

“A... mystery date?”

“Exactly! You’ll have no idea what it is, and I’ll pick you up in my car and drive us there. Does that sound good?” Suga asked. Daichi smiled.

“Yeah, that sounds great. But will you at least give me a hint?”

“Nope.” Suga chuckled. “Is thirty minutes too soon?”

“Thirty minutes is just enough time for me to get ready. And I don’t have to work this evening, either.”

“This is perfect! It’s wonderful weather…, you don’t have to work… alright! I’ll be there in thirty minutes. See you soon, Dai. Love you.” Suga said excitedly.

“Love you too, Suga.” Daichi said, and a moment later they ended the call.

_ Wonderful weather? _ Daichi thought,  _ Where could we be going? _

 

Daichi checked the clock on his phone again. It was already five pm, exactly thirty minutes after Suga had called. He tapped his fingers against the kitchen table in anticipation, trying to find something he could do to pass the time until Suga arrived.

Just when Daichi was about to check the time once more, he heard light knocking on his apartment door. Daichi took a deep breath, opening it.

_ Every time Daichi saw him, he felt his heart do a double-take. There was something strange about the way Suga smiled and laughed that he could never put his finger on; something special and interesting and unique. It was odd, how every time their eyes locked he felt his blood pound against his veins and his breath stutter in his throat just like it had a little over a month ago, when he stood at that door to the antique shop, still nervous to enter. He thought about how far they had come in such a short span of time, and how they met over the most peculiar circumstances. Daichi thought that maybe without those circumstances, they would have met anyway. _

“You ready to go?” Suga asked, a gentle smile on his face. Daichi mirrored it, slipping his phone into the pocket of his jeans and giving a slight nod, muttering a ‘yeah’ in response instead of the monologue of his thoughts. Suga reached forward to take his hand and together they left the building, climbing into Suga’s car for the first time since they had ever known each other.

“I know it must feel strange when I’m driving. I don’t do it very often, but I have it for long trips.” Suga explained. “We could just use your car-”

“No, it’s fine.” Daichi dismissed with a wave of his hand. Suga looked at him and smiled, reaching over to hold his hand as he drove out of the parking lot.

There were a few minutes of comfortable silence, Suga focused on driving as Daichi watched the town pass by outside the car window. When he noticed they were entering the more rural part of town, he spoke up.

“So, where  _ are _ we going?” Daichi asked. Suga didn’t answer, instead he simply squeezed his hand and continued driving. Daichi leaned his cheek against the window and continued to stare at the scenery as they drove by.

Eventually, Suga pulled onto a gravel path, the car bumping up and down over the tiny rocks. “We’re here,” Suga said, squeezing Daichi’s hand again as the path opened up into a makeshift parking lot, which already hosted a small car. Suga parked next to it, motioning for Daichi to get out as he did.

“You took me to a plant nursery?” Daichi asked, smiling as he saw the greenhouse in front of him. Suga took his hand once again, walking both of them up to the front. A girl inside turned around, jumping in surprise at the two customers.

“H-hi, w-welcome to-” The girl stuttered, then abruptly stopped talking when her eyes fell onto Daichi. “D-D-Daichi?”

“Yachi?” Daichi asked. The short, blonde girl almost jumped from surprise. Daichi noticed how she hadn’t changed much from her first year, except now her hair had gotten longer, and albeit her timid nature, she looked more mature.

Suga elbowed Daichi and threw him a questioning look as if to say  _ ‘You know her?’ _ . Daichi nodded and looked back over to Yachi, who stepped to the side.

“W-welcome to the Midori Plant Nursery, how can we help you two?” Yachi asked, motioning for the two of them to step inside the greenhouse, which they did. Suga’s mouth was open as he stared at the wide selection of beautiful plants. Daichi chuckled at him and turned back to Yachi.

“We’re just here to look, thanks. It’s been quite a few years, Yachi, how are things going?” Daichi responded, noting that Suga had just walked off to get closer to a lot of the plants. Yachi nodded quickly.

“O-oh, after you third years left, the team was still going strong. We got a lot of good first years, and even the year after that the first years were incredible. Though it never was the same without you or Azumane-san. Tanaka-san was a good ace and Ennoshita-san made a wonderful captain, but… It even seemed like everyone else was missing you guys.”

Daichi was about to say something when he heard footsteps behind him, and Yachi smiled to the person who had just entered. “Shimizu! Look who it is!” Yachi beamed.

Daichi turned. Kiyoko smiled gently; she was holding a large flower pot in her arms, adorned with a small bush of lilac flowers planted in the dirt. Setting the flower pot down on a nearby counter, Kiyoko said, “You know, I never would have expected you here of all places, Daichi.” He chuckled, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“Suga brought me here,” Daichi said, motioning to the silver-haired guy who was staring at the orchids. Kiyoko nodded.

“Well, you can look around, too. Only Hitoka and I run this place. Ask us if you have any questions.” Kiyoko said, moving over to Yachi and tapping her on the shoulder. “Would you help me move some of the succulents?” Yachi nodded and the two walked off towards the back corner of the greenhouse.

Daichi walked over to Suga, who was still staring at the orchids. “You having fun?” He asked, causing Suga to grin and look up at him.

“Of course! I just heard about this place today, and thought you might want to go with me. Let’s look around!” Suga said, taking his hand and walking him through the greenhouse. “Do you like plants?”

“Uh, sure, I guess.” Daichi mumbled. “I mean, I don’t really care what we do together. As long as I’m spending time with you, that's fine with me.”

Suga stopped walking, a blush rising on his face. “You’re such a sap, honestly.” He pointed to a flower pot, a quiet gasp escaping his breath, “Look at the azaleas, Daichi, aren’t they pretty?” He nodded in response.

“What’d you want to come here for?” Daichi asked as Suga examined the small azalea bush.

“Well, to buy some plants, of course. These are pretty, but I heard them mention they have succulents…?” Suga hummed.

“Kiyoko!” Daichi called across the greenhouse, gaining the attention of the woman. She turned around, setting a pot of succulent plants down on the floor and walking over.

“Yes, Daichi?”

“Um, I wanted to ask, where are your succulents?”

“Oh, we’re moving them to another spot right now, but if you want to come look, we’re happy to let you.” Kiyoko answered.

“Thank you for your help, Kiyoko,” Suga said, smiling. Kiyoko smiled back, leading them over to the succulents section of the greenhouse. Yachi was holding a tray of tiny succulent pots, and when Suga saw them, his gasp came out as more of a whimper.

“How much are these?” Suga asked, pointing to the tray Yachi was holding.

“¥700 for three.”

“I’ll take six of them.”

Yachi set the tray onto a clear space on a table, stepping aside so Suga could have a look. “Alright, pick the six you want.” Yachi prompted. Suga was looking through the succulents when Kiyoko started talking.

“So, you two are dating?” She asked, causing Daichi’s cheeks to grow red. Kiyoko laughed, then continued, “It’s okay. I don’t judge. In fact, I asked out Hitoka when I came back to watch one of Karasuno’s games after our graduation.”

“Yeah. I met Suga about a month and a half ago. He runs an antique shop over on the other end of town.” Daichi answered. “So what have you two been doing after high school?”

“Well, I went to university and my mom owned this nursery part-time. She left for Europe to expand our family’s company, and passed the nursery to me. Eventually I just starting running it full-time and even invited Hitoka here with me.”

“I’m still attending college, I’m the university’s manager of the volleyball team, and I’m studying to be a physical therapist.” Yachi added. “But I help Shimizu around here when I’m not at campus.”

“Okay, Yachi, I’ve picked the six I want.” Suga said. Yachi nodded.

“Um, you can pay over here.” Yachi explained, walking over to a counter in the center of the greenhouse. “It’ll be ¥1,400.”

Daichi stood and talked with Kiyoko as Suga paid Yachi. “It’s a very nice place.”  Daichi mentioned, in reference to the nursery which the two girls ran. “Maybe we’ll come back soon.”

“That’d be nice.” Kiyoko admitted. “I don’t see many familiar faces coming in, so thanks for your business.”

“Yeah. It was nice to see you after all these years. Which reminds me- I ran into Yamaguchi and Tsukishima about a month ago. They run a bar just up the road back into town.”

“Oh, really? I guess we’ll have to go visit them. Hitoka always mentioned how she was good friends with Tadashi, she’d be happy to see him.”

“Daichi! You ready to go?” Suga asked, still over at the checkout counter holding his six small pots. Daichi gave a nod.

“Well, it was nice seeing you two.” Daichi said to Yachi and Kiyoko while walking over to Suga. They smiled, Yachi giving them a cute wave.

“Bye, Daichi! Bye, Suga! Come back soon!” Yachi chirped, causing the two boys to grin and wave back in response as they left the greenhouse.

The warm summer air was slowing down to a cooler breeze as they walked outside. Even the blue sky was beginning to turn orange as the golden sun sank into the horizon. Suga stood next to his car, staring at the sunset. Daichi stood next to him, kissing him on his temple.

“We should come back here soon.” He suggested.

Suga smiled. “For now, let’s go back home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~hope you guys enjoyed the ridiculous amount of fluff~~
> 
>  
> 
> ~~also there will be even more fluff next chapter~~
> 
>  
> 
> and happy late fourth of july for everyone in the states. I know I should have mentioned it last chapter, but I totally forgot. Oh whale.  
> Chapter 10 should be out very soon, it shouldn't take long at all to write !  
> See you guys then, and I hope you have a fantastic week :3
> 
>  
> 
> ~~also pokemon go came out and i swear that's all ive been doing for the last two days~~  
>  like we took over a gym yesterday but then some people on blue team dropped by and immediately took it back  
> and now we have like no hope bc they have a 702 Cp pidgeot and my best is a 302 Cp venomoth  
> tbh i just want some really cool pokemon but all i really catch are pidgeys and rattatas  
> i mean i saw a scyther once but the game bugged out and we lost connection and that sucked  
> i have like three eevees though and thats super good but i want to evolve one  
> and currently my charmander is a sitting duck because i can't evolve him because there's no charmanders around here  
> im sorry for talking about pokemon go so much but it's taking over 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All aboard the fluff train.
> 
> No, seriously. Enjoy three thousand words of PURE FLUFF. This... is the longest chapter. And it's entirely fluff.
> 
> WARNING: brief mentions of Monopoly (the board game), mentions of cooking dinner, mentions of watching movies, and mentions of loTS OF FLUFF

“Iwa-chan~, what do you think about this vase? Wouldn’t it look nice in our bedroom? We could put some flowers in it…” Oikawa suggested. Iwaizumi merely shrugged, and continued looking around the antique shop.

“It was nice of you guys to drop by,” Suga said, standing close to the front door. “But really, I’ve got to close up soon. And you’ve been here for well past half an hour, are you even going to buy anything?”

Iwaizumi nodded over to Oikawa. “I’m ready to leave, but it’s all up to him.” Oikawa smiled, humming softly to himself as he continued browsing.

“It doesn’t look like he’ll be done anytime soon,” Suga added, crossing his arms. “Thanks for coming, though. Sometimes, it can get pretty lonely. Especially if I don’t have customers for a long stretch of time.”

“I bet.” Iwaizumi said, running his fingers over the designs etched onto a plate. “Hey, Suga, whatever happened with that guy…”

“Oh, Daichi?” Suga asked, and Iwaizumi mumbled a ‘yeah’. Suga checked the time on his phone quickly. “He should be here anytime now. Says he wants to take me somewhere.”

Oikawa perked up. “Koushi-chan! You never told me how that date went!” Suga forced out a nervous laugh, avoiding eye contact. Oikawa pouted, crossing his arms childishly. Iwaizumi sighed.

“Uh, that was a month and a half ago…” Suga muttered, grinning sheepishly as his eyes darted from the floor to Oikawa. “And we’re… kind of… dating, now…”

No one noticed the car pull up outside and Daichi climb out, so when Oikawa yelled, “Dating?!” Daichi almost turned around and walked away. He froze as he was opening the door, his cheeks rising with a blush. Suga blushed, too, and Oikawa covered his mouth as if he was sorry. (Iwaizumi knew he probably wasn’t.)

“Sounds like you three are having fun…” Daichi muttered, slipping an arm around Suga’s waist and kissing him on the cheek. “How was your day, Suga?”

“Aw, you two are just so cute~” Oikawa said, “I wish I had a relationship like that!”

Iwaizumi flicked Oikawa on the side of his head. “You do have a relationship like that, dumbass.” Oikawa rubbed at the side of his head, frowning.

“You’re too mean, Iwa-chan.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, shrugging his arm around Oikawa’s shoulder, who leaned into the contact, smiling, like a cat who gets to cuddle up with his favorite human.

“We’ve been here too long, so we’re probably going to go.” Iwaizumi said for the both of them, causing Oikawa to frown slightly. Daichi chuckled.

“Yeah, Suga, we should get going too.” Daichi suggested. “I want to take you back to my apartment…” Suga smiled, looking up at Daichi, and Oikawa nearly jumped. He grinned wildly, shaking Iwaizumi’s arm in excitement.

“You guys don’t have  _ too _ much fun!” Oikawa chirped. Suga sighed, but he was still smiling.

“Let’s go, Tooru, before you cause them too much trouble.” Iwaizumi said, trying to lead Oikawa out the door. “Bye, guys, have fun tonight.”

“See you two sometime soon!” Suga said as Iwaizumi pushed Oikawa outside. Daichi and Suga watched the two walk off and turn the corner, on their way to the train station. Suga sighed again, leaning his head on Daichi’s shoulder.

“How does curry sound for dinner?” Daichi asked, and Suga nodded against his shoulder.

“That sounds wonderful. You’re going to cook it, of course?” Suga said. Daichi took his arm back from its spot around Suga’s waist, now settling for just his hand.

“Yeah. Now go get your stuff, we don’t have all day to talk about my amazing cooking skills.” Suga laughed, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips and walking off to his back room in the antique shop. Daichi stood out in the open of the shop for a few minutes alone, taking in the orange glow which drifted in from the sunset through the huge glass windows at the front of the store. Suga stepped out of the back room, his packed bag in tow. With the hand not holding his bag, he poked at Daichi’s at his side until they were holding hands once more.

“I’m always super excited to taste your cooking.” Suga said with an angelic smile, and Daichi wondered to himself in that moment how on Earth he had ever met such a perfect human being known as Sugawara Koushi. With a smile of his own, Daichi led them outside and Suga flicked off the lights, locking the front door with a key, then he shoved it into his bag.

“So what else are we going to do?” Suga asked once they were both in the car. Daichi started up the engine and drove out of the parking lot, thinking.

“We’ll find something to do after we eat.” Daichi decided, and Suga chuckled, leaning his cheek against the window.

“Any good movies on tv? Have any board games?” Suga suggested, watching buildings and cars pass by outside. Daichi tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.

“Yeah, probably. We’ll look after dinner, okay?” He said, reaching a hand over to Suga’s, intertwining their fingers. Suga smiled against the glass, humming to himself and rubbing his thumb soothingly over the back of Daichi’s hand. The car ride was peaceful, and the sun was sinking lower into the horizon, washing the town in an orange light and exposing a few twinkling stars up in the arc of the sky. In no time, Daichi was already pulling into his apartment’s parking lot, and the two climbed out. Suga reached for his bag, but Daichi beat him to it, slinging Suga’s bag over his shoulder.

“I’ll carry it for you,” Daichi said. Suga grinned and punched him on the arm.

“You’re  _ such _ a gentleman, Dai.” He whispered, causing Daichi’s cheeks to turn pink. The two entered the apartment building and made their way to Daichi’s apartment, which was a room near the front of the first floor. Daichi unlocked his apartment and he walked inside, setting Suga’s bag on the couch. Suga walked in, shutting the door behind him. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been there, of course, the first time was probably around two weeks ago when Daichi had first cooked for him. Suga collapsed on the couch next to his bag, and stared up at the ceiling.

“I’m tired,” Suga muttered, hugging a pillow. “And hungry.”

“I can fix that second thing,” Daichi offered, heading for his fridge. He began pulling out ingredients for curry and setting them on the counter. Suga lifted his head from the couch, craning his neck to see what Daichi was doing in the kitchen.

“You know, Daichi, if you don’t use beef in that curry, it would be a huge mis- _ steak _ .”

Daichi froze. There was a beat of silence throughout the apartment.

After that silence, Daichi heaved a heavy sigh and continued preparing the meal. Suga giggled to himself, hugging the pillow tighter.

“Don’t laugh, you’re not funny. That’s like the tenth pun in the entire time we’ve been dating. That’s ten puns too many.” Suga laughed more, burying his face into the pillow. Daichi shook his head, smiling.  _ Suga could be so endearing sometimes. _

“It’s pork, anyway.” Daichi added, and Suga rolled his eyes (although no one could see them). “Should be done in about an hour-” Suga groaned, “-but we can watch a movie in that time, if you want to. I’ll see what’s on tv.”

“Then get over here and turn on your tv, I have zero idea how to work this thing. Where even is your remote.” Suga droned, lifting his head from its pillow nest.

“Give me a few minutes, Suga.” Daichi answered as he chopped up vegetables. “I’ll finish preparing, and when I can let it simmer, we’ll find a movie to watch.”

“Daiiiiiiichiiiiiiiii~,” Suga groaned again, with a huge grin on his face. “Come  _ over  _ here, I’m so  _ bored _ .” Daichi was nearly tempted to set the chef’s knife down and go straight to the couch, but he kept preparing the dish. Suga’s grin was devilish, and Daichi knew that Suga knew  _ exactly _ how to manipulate him. He scratched his earlier thought that Suga was an angel, because no, it was all just a facade, hiding the  _ real _ Suga inside: an evil, evil man, who liked puns  _ way _ too much. But Daichi didn’t really mind the fact that he was evil. (The puns were another problem.)

Suga nestled his face back into the pillow, curling up onto the couch. Daichi continued cooking, and when all the ingredients were into the pot and he could finally leave the kitchen for a few minutes, he walked into the living room, flicking the power button on the tv’s remote. Suga perked his head up from his place on the couch.

“Ew, who watches the news?” Suga said when the tv turned onto the town’s local news. “You’re an old grandpa.” Daichi chuckled, sitting down on the couch next to Suga, who immediately snuggled up next to him, Daichi throwing his arm around Suga’s shoulder.

_ “Another fire in the middle of a large mall in Miyagi- this time caused by faulty wiring within electronics located in or near the food court, the company is looking into this defect, hopefully future products will not host this wiring, though no one was injured-” _

The news reporter was cut off by Daichi changing the channel.

“Daichi, switch to a different movie. This one’s already halfway over.” Suga suggested, talking into Daichi’s shirt. Daichi only shrugged and leaned back, sliding his other arm over Suga’s waist.

“It doesn’t really matter what movie we watch. I just want to cuddle with you.” Daichi said simply, causing pink to rise into Suga’s cheeks. He buried his face into Daichi’s shirt, so he couldn’t see him smiling.

“Aw, Daichi, I love you,” Suga whispered. Daichi pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“Love you too.” Daichi replied, settling in the couch to watch the movie.

When the timer went off for Daichi to put the potatoes in the curry, he almost didn’t hear it, he was so engrossed with the movie. He  _ really _ wanted to know how it was going to end- the main girl liked some popular and stupid guy, but this other guy who was a lot nicer towards her liked her, but it was just so suddenly revealed that the popular guy was actually super nice and the nice guy was actually just trying to use her. It was… very attention-grabbing, though maybe very cliché at the same time.

“I’ll go get that.” Daichi said, prying himself from the couch and also Suga, who fell face-first onto the couch because now he wasn’t leaning on anything.

“Hurry, Daichi. It’s about to get interesting!” Suga muttered, most of his words muffled by the couch cushions. Daichi was amazed he could make out Suga’s words at all. He quickly added the potatoes, setting the timer again, and rushing back out to the couch and lifting up Suga so they could resume watching in their previous position. Suga gasped loudly when Daichi snaked his arms around Suga’s waist, because the two guys were now confronting each other in the movie without the girl knowing. Daichi smiled as Suga leaned his head onto his shoulder.

The movie finished right when the timer beeped again. Suga was left in a state of shock. “What do you mean she chose the nice-but-actually-mean guy? Didn’t she realize the other guy was starting to fall for her? This is why I don’t watch romance movies on tv, Daichi. All the characters are  _ idiots _ except like one person!” Suga ranted, rubbing his eyes. Daichi pulled himself up from the couch.

“Oh well. Do you want to come check on the food with me? Everything should be ready.” He offered, and Suga nodded, letting himself be pulled up off the couch.

“It smells  _ amazing, _ ” Suga declared, stepping into the kitchen after Daichi. He sat at the table while Daichi scooped the curry and rice onto two plates. “And it looks amazing too, this is probably the best curry I’ve ever  _ seen _ …”

Daichi smiled modestly, blushing slightly from being complimented. “There’s definitely better out there-”

Suga pressed his finger to Daichi’s lips. “Shush. You’re an amazing cook and I won’t let you say otherwise. And thank you for the meal.” Suga pulled his finger away quickly, only to replace it by his lips. After a second he pulled away, smiling. Daichi was still a little dazed, left with his heart racing as it always did with Suga. He smiled, too, and began to eat. Suga devoured almost half the plate in ten seconds.

“This is just as good- no,  _ better _ than how it smells. Daichi, you make an  _ amazing _ curry. Everything you make is amazing. You’re amazing. How did I meet someone as great as you.” Suga said, no filter to his words. Daichi laughed, still blushing.

“Coincidence.” Daichi supplied. Suga pointed at him with his chopsticks.

“ _ Genius. _ ” Suga said, with a mouthful of food. Daichi resisted his laugh again, but he was still grinning. “You’re a genius, too.  _ How _ are you this perfect, Daichi.” He shrugged in response, and Suga knocked his shoulder against Daichi’s.

“Hurry up and eat, I’m almost done.” Suga said, finishing off the rest of his plate. Daichi was amazed at how fast Suga could inhale the dish, and he was only halfway done now.

“I’m trying, but I don’t have a void as a stomach and a vacuum for a mouth. You’re like a black hole, Suga.” Daichi said, causing Suga to laugh.

“Whatever, Daichi.”

“Well, your digestive system anyway.”

“That’s a little better.” Suga said, standing up to deposit his plate into the sink. “Do you want me to do the dishes for you, since you cooked for me?”

“It’s my apartment.” Daichi stated, finishing off his food. “And how about neither of us do the dishes right now and I avoid doing them until my sink is overflowing with various tableware, like I do all the time.” Suga nodded, thinking over Daichi’s suggestion.

“Sounds good. What now?” Suga asked as Daichi put his plate into the sink. Daichi shrugged.

“Well, we could just cuddle for the rest of time.”

“I’m down.”

“Or, I have Monopoly.”

Suga stared at Daichi for a minute, wide-eyed. “Monopoly.” Suga whispered, his eyes still wide. Daichi laughed, kissing Suga on the forehead.

“Monopoly it is. It’s probably sitting in my closet somewhere.” Daichi said. Suga grinned.

“Alright, be warned. I’m  _ extremely good. _ ”

“Well, I know you’re extremely good.” Daichi smirked.

“At Monopoly!” Suga yelled as Daichi disappeared down the hallway into his room, fishing out the board game. Suga sat down on the floor of his living room, hugging a couch pillow to his chest. When Daichi walked back into the room, holding the board game, Suga let out an audible gasp.

“I won’t let you win.” Daichi said, beginning to set up the game.

“Mhmm. Oh, and I call the dog.”

“No fair. I’ll be the thimble.”

“Can I be the banker?”

“My apartment, my decision. And my decision is no.  _ You  _ can be the realtor.”

“Fine then. But I’m going to win.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Suga.”

 

Two hours later, the orange sunlight streaming through the blinds of the window was gone, and was replaced by the natural light of the room’s ceiling lights. Although that wasn’t the only thing replaced- so was all of Daichi’s hope.

Daichi had managed to snag the boardwalk, although he could never land on park place. Suga, playing a more low-key strategy, managed to buy all of the pink spaces. Soon afterward he began buying house after house, and eventually, every pink spot had a hotel. Daichi ended up forking over a lot of money, very fast. He was down to his last few bills, meanwhile Suga was racking up the cash.

“I told you so.” Suga said defiantly, smirking. Daichi rolled his eyes, picking up the dice. He had just passed Go, and collected 200 dollars, but now he was within Suga’s Range.

If he rolled a five, seven, or eight, he’d land on one of the pink spaces, and would be forced to fork over the last of his money, and also whatever was left of his dignity. Daichi held the dice in front of his face, then tossed them over the board, praying that he’d get something that would not land him in Suga Territory.

Daichi felt his stomach drop when he saw what he had rolled.  _ A seven. Of course. _

Suga’s smirk only grew. “I believe you owe me some money, Daichi,” He whispered. Daichi contemplated flipping the board into Suga’s stupid face.  _ No, he’s your boyfriend and you love him,  _ Daichi told himself, trying to quench the burning rage within.

“So, did we decide on a punishment for the loser?” Suga asked.

“No punishments, please…” Daichi mumbled.

“You’re lucky that I love you. I don’t think I can deal with having to hurt you.” Suga said, pointing an index finger to Daichi. He laughed, relieved. “But you  _ are _ going to sleep with me.”

Daichi’s face immediately grew hotter. “Wh-wha-”

“Relax. I didn’t mean it in  _ that  _ way.” Suga laughed. “I’m just saying I’m going to sleep next to you. And we’re going to cuddle. All night. And your face is  _ really _ red, by the way.”

“Yeah. I know. I can feel it.” Daichi replied, rubbing at his cheeks, trying to make the sudden heat go away.

“But I  _ am _ super tired.”

“Let’s go to the bedroom then.”

“I don’t feel like moving.”

Daichi rolled his eyes. “I’ll carry you, then.”

“Holy crap you’re strong enough to do that?!” Suga reached his arms out to Daichi.

“Stand up. I’m going to pick you up bridal-style.” Daichi stated, and Suga eagerly stood. Daichi swooped him off his feet, one arm underneath his knees and the other supporting his back. Suga held his arms around the back of Daichi’s neck his support.

“Wow, Daichi.” Suga muttered, letting himself be carried to the bedroom. “Wow. Um. I have no words. You’re rendering me speechless. I- um, okay. This is amazing.”

Daichi smiled, pressing a kiss to Suga’s forehead. He dumped Suga off on his bed, going back into the living room to grab his bag. He threw it next to Suga. “Do you want me to go in the other room while you get changed?”

“No, it’s okay.” Suga said, standing up and shrugging off his shirt and jeans, into his boxers. Daichi did the same, and they awkwardly changed in front of each other for the first time. (Suga tried not to notice the curve of Daichi’s perfectly toned back muscles, or his arms, or very,  _ very _ pretty six-pack. Nope. He wiped away his drool when Daichi wasn’t looking.)

Daichi turned off the bedroom light after they were both changed into t-shirts and athletic shorts. A moment after his phone lit up the room, so they could see what they were doing. Daichi climbed into bed and under the blankets, and Suga cuddled up next to him, smiling contentedly.

“Today was super fun,” Suga whispered. “I want to do it again. A thousand more times.”

“And you say I’m the huge sap.” Daichi whispered in response.

“You  _ are a huge sap _ , though.”

“We’re both huge saps.”

“I can agree to that.”

There was silence as Suga nuzzled his face into Daichi’s chest. Daichi wrapped his arms around Suga’s back, hugging him close.

“Goodnight.” Suga said. It reminded him of that night, all the way back in his antique shop, when only earlier he had just met Daichi. He felt himself smile.

“‘Night, Suga.” Daichi pressed a kiss to Suga’s lips.

“I love you _so_ _much_.”

“I love you  _ so much _ , too.”

Suga’s heart panged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~daichi and suga are huge saps, but I'm the real sap. ;)~~
> 
> i think that's all I have to say for this chapter. Um, I hope you enjoyed! I posted this chapter a day before I intentionally meant for it to go up, but... I finished it yesterday. And fun fact, I even finished chapter eleven today, though I'm going to hold up on posting it for a few days (which will be saturday, or, if I'm feeling like it, friday.)
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and have an awesome week!
> 
> (fun fact #2!: i contemplated writing smut into the end of this chapter. But, it was already extremely long and extremely fluffy, and I didn't want to change that. Although, adding smut would have made daichi and suga 'bond' (in a way) a little bit more..., and it would probably cause for next chapter to be a little more..... emotional. as if chapter eleven isn't emotional enough as it is........ um, yeah. Fluff train stops here. For now.)
> 
> (Fun fact #3!: this chapter is the only chapter where smut would fit into the storyline. but i don't think i'm ready to write it yet....)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You asked... for fluff? Sorry, but we're all out. I can check in the back if you'd like-  
> No? Okay. Well, we'll have a shipment of plot development in a few days... if that's okay.  
> You don't want to leave without getting anything...? Alright. I'll see what we can do.  
> *elevator music*  
> I've checked the whole place. All we have is angst.  
> -That... that's fine? Okay then. I'll ring up the angst for you.  
> Sorry about your fluff. We have some on the way alongside that plot development I mentioned.  
> Oh, don't worry about payment. Here's your angst!

_ Bzzzt. Bzzzzt. _

__ Daichi fumbled around on the bed, barely awake.  _ What was that noise? He didn’t remember setting any sort of alarm. _

_ Bzzzt. Bzzzzt. _

The buzzing seemed to grow impatient, and as he fumbled, his hand brushed over his vibrating phone, nestled in between him and Suga, who was still, for the most part, anyway, sleeping.

_ Bzzz- _

Daichi pressed the ‘Accept Call’ button and held his phone to his ear, only slightly annoyed that he was being woken up. He didn’t have to work this morning, and Suga’s hours were flexible, as always, so he didn’t see any need to be awake now. There was a voice from the other side of the phone call, but he didn’t register what it was saying.

Daichi sat up, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand. Suga stirred next to him, and Daichi hoped that he hadn’t woke him up.

“-chi.” The voice on the other end finished, and Daichi sat there for a moment, trying to process what it had said. “Did you hear me?!” She yelled.

Wait- she. That meant the caller could be Eri, or…

“Mom?” Daichi croaked.

“Of course it’s your mother. Now  _ answer me. _ ”

“Slow down, I just woke up. ...What did you ask?” Daichi felt unease settle at the pit of his stomach. He turned to look at Suga, whose eyes were blinking open. Daichi carded his fingers through Suga’s hair, settling his hand to cup Suga’s cheek.

“I asked you, what’s your apartment number? I’m coming by for a visit.” Daichi’s mother explained, and he blinked.

“No.” Daichi said.

“What did you just say to me? I’m your  _ mother _ , and we haven’t seen each other in almost two months, Daichi. Let me just visit you.” She demanded. Suga was rubbing his eyes next to him, frowning.

“Daichi, is that your mom?” Suga whispered. He nodded as Suga sat up, snaking his arm around Daichi’s waist and leaning his head onto Daichi’s shoulder sympathetically.

“Daichi. I know you’re here, I see your car. Tell me, or I’ll ask the front desk myself.”

“I’m an adult, too. Come by another day.”

“Why?”

Suga looked up at Daichi, running his fingers through Daichi’s hair. “It’s okay if she comes over.” He whispered.

Daichi moved the phone away from his ear. “She’ll see you.” He breathed in response, not daring to make his voice any louder. He sent a worried glance at his phone.

“She had to find out sometime.”

“I don’t want her to hurt you.”

Suga lowered his eyes, rubbing soothing circles on Daichi’s back.

“You have apartment number 104.” Daichi’s mother said through the phone. “I just asked the front desk.”

Daichi gulped. “Yes. I do.”

“I’m outside your door.”

There was a beat of silence as Daichi sat there, on his bed. He wasn’t going to get out of this situation without confronting his mom, but… the last thing he wanted was for Suga to be the target of his mom’s cruelty. He didn’t want Suga to have to deal with the harshness he had for a year and a half. Suga, as far as Daichi knew, anyway, didn’t have anyone who judged him because he was different. Everyone was open and accepting, and Daichi didn’t want to be the reason that he brought in someone who was not.

“Daichi.” Suga whispered, his voice gentle and smooth and totally contrasting the woman outside his apartment door. He cupped Daichi’s cheek with one hand, pressing his lips to the other. Daichi’s eyes fluttered closed.

“I’m coming.” Daichi said into the phone, hanging up. He tossed it aside, burying his face in his hands, his whole body shaking but tears not quite escaping.

“Don’t cry.” Suga whispered. Daichi drew in a deep breath. “If you cry, I’ll probably cry…” Suga continued, rubbing at his eyes.

“I’m just weak.” Daichi said.

“No,” Suga croaked, blinking back his own tears. “No, no, no, no. No, you are not weak, Daichi, don’t say that…” Daichi shook his head, and Suga buried his face into his shirt. Daichi felt it grow damp. “You can’t…”

“I’m sorry, Suga.”

There was banging at the door of the apartment. Daichi looked up, wiping his eyes. Suga covered his mouth with his hands to stifle his sobs.

“I’ll get the door.” Daichi said as he stood up.

The apartment had an odd sort of air surrounding it, like Daichi’s anticipation of his mother was becoming tangible and manifesting itself around him. The Monopoly game was still set out on the floor, but all of the happiness from last night had slipped away. The place still smelled of curry from their dinner. Daichi turned towards the front door. ...Everything he had done with Suga the night before now only served as a reminder for what was outside.

Daichi unlocked and opened his apartment door.

“Finally, Daichi, could you  _ be _ any slower?” Sawamura Kamiko asked as she wiggled her way into the small apartment, shutting the door behind her. “I just wanted to check up on my son. Is that too much to ask?”

Daichi sighed, not looking his mother in the eyes. She glanced at him, then studied his apartment. “Did you have someone over?” She continued, eyeing the game of Monopoly, fake money and property cards still strewn across the floor, and even the three hotels set on the pink spaces remained. Daichi looked away from the board game.

“So?” He said, harsher than he intended. Kamiko stared at him for a moment, crossing her arms.

“You didn’t want me to come because you didn’t want me to know.”

“Will you just  _ leave _ now?”

She glared at him, taking a step further into the apartment. “He’s in the bedroom, isn’t he.” Daichi felt his stomach drop, and he swallowed down the fear bubbling its way through his throat.

“You’ve visited. Now please,  _ go. _ ”

“No.” Kamiko held her ground as if she was in her own house, making Daichi feel like a mere guest in his  _ own _ apartment. “Can’t I visit you from time to time?”

There was the sound of footsteps.

“Who are you?” Kamiko asked as Suga appeared in the hallway. He was frowning, and there was no sign that he had been crying only minutes before.

“My name is Sugawara Koushi. I run an antique shop not far from here.” Suga answered, voice indifferent. Kamiko sent a glance at Daichi, then turned back to Suga.

“And what are you doing here?” She asked. Daichi thought he could see hate forming in her eyes.  _ It was no fair- just because Suga was with him, his mom was starting to dislike him.  _ Daichi watched as Suga turned to Daichi and took a deep breath, quickly grabbing his cheeks and pulling his face down to match his, locking their lips together. Daichi heard his mom make a disgusted noise, but Suga didn’t pull away until a few seconds later. His heart was pounding.

“I’m his boyfriend.”

Silence settled like a thick fog. Kamiko’s expression was unreadable as she stared at the two. Suga’s hands fell from Daichi’s cheeks, and onto Daichi’s chest, where he held them there, staring at them, not building up the courage to look at Kamiko. Suga tapped his fingers against Daichi’s chest as he brought his own up to hold Suga’s.

“If you aren’t okay with that,” Suga said, eyes still on his hands, “then please, leave.”

“Daichi,” Kamiko said, a few seconds later, “is this because of me? Did I not give you enough love? Did any girls even  _ ask _ you out at all…?”

Daichi closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Or are you dating him because you think he has feminine features?”

Daichi squeezed Suga’s hands.

“Do you even like him-”

“Sawamura-san.” Suga interrupted. “Please, leave us alone.”

Kamiko took a step forward, clenching her fists at her side.  _ If she hurts Suga…, I don’t want to be the one that caused it. _ Daichi put and arm protectively around him, glaring at his mother. Kamiko drew in a breath.

“You two are sick. You need help.”

“Leave, Sawamura-san.” Suga whispered, face contorted like he was about to cry. Daichi blinked back his own tears- he know he didn’t want to see Suga crying, and Suga probably felt the same about him.

“You’re gross.”

“You came here, and insulted us…” Suga muttered, eyes glazing over with tears. “and  _ we’re _ the gross ones.”

“A man and a woman.” Kamiko said. “That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

Daichi took a step forward.

“You can insult me all you want, I don’t care.” Daichi said, staring at the ground. He looked up at his mother, standing before him,  _ daring _ to do this in  _ his _ apartment. “But you  _ won’t _ insult Suga.” Behind the tears, his eyes glinted with an almost unreadable emotion. “ _ Ever _ .”

“I’ll do whatever I want-”

“ _ Get out _ .” Daichi took a breath. “I’m tired of you controlling my life. You’re not going to control his.”

Kamiko took a step forward. Now, she was standing right in front of Daichi.

_ Slap _ .

Her hand was there before he knew it, and Daichi didn’t even recognize the pain until a few seconds later, when he saw his mother’s hand on the other side of his face.

“Leave.” Suga demanded to Kamiko, pulling Daichi back, away from his abusive mother.

And with another hard glare at the two, Kamiko turned on her heel and walked out the front door, slamming it behind her as she stomped out of the apartment.

Suga and Daichi stared at the door for a moment, both seeming to process what had happened. Daichi’s face stung- red and raw from his mother’s hand.

He turned, facing Suga, trying not to see the tears in his eyes. (The tears in his own made Suga’s face blurry, anyway.) Then he hugged Suga, burying his face in his shoulder and  _ finally  _ crying.

“I’m sorry, Suga.” Daichi sobbed. “I should leave you. So you don’t have to deal with her.” Suga looked at the ceiling, blinking tears out of his eyes, rolling down his cheeks. He held Daichi’s waist with one arm, and ran his fingers through Daichi’s hair with his other. “She’ll only cause you pain and… it’ll be my fault. I don’t want to be the reason you’re suffering. I don’t want to bring a toxic person into your life.”

“Don’t say that.” Suga whispered. “Please, don’t say that. I-” he was interrupted by his own sob- “I don’t want you to leave.” Suga laid his forehead onto Daichi’s shoulder. “Don’t leave me. I love you.”

Daichi tightened his arms around Suga’s back. “I love you, too. And I don’t want to leave, but maybe it would be… for the best.”

“No. No, no, no, no, no. It would not be for the best. Daichi… it’s okay. It’s going to be okay, I won’t let her get to me. I don’t  _ care _ what she says. It doesn’t matter to us.” Suga lifted his head up, and brought up one hand to lift Daichi’s. Suga wiped away the tears on Daichi’s face. He nodded, leaning forward to kiss Suga.

When they pulled apart, he muttered, “Can we sit down?” Suga nodded also, walking them over to the couch. Daichi sat down across the full length of the couch, and Suga sat, leaning his back onto Daichi’s chest. Daichi hugged him, his face in Suga’s hair.

“I’m going to have to go to work soon.” Suga whispered.

“I know. But please… sit with me. At least for a little while.”

“I’ll stay with you until my lunch break.” Suga decided, turning on his side so he could hug Daichi. “Okay?”

“Okay.” Daichi whispered, closing his eyes.

Suga felt a tear roll down his cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~I'M SO SO SORRY~~
> 
>  
> 
> this is all the angst for the story, right?  
> *checks my plan for the story*  
> ......no. this isn't the last of the angst. beware.
> 
> aaaaanyway, thanks so much for reading, and if you cried, it'll be alright. go bake yourself some cookies, bundle up in a huge, fluffy blanket, and watch your favorite movie. hopefully that will combat the angst c:  
> the next chapter should be up in a few days. see you guys then, and have a fantastic week!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the fluff shortage last chapter! I'm not sure if this is qualifiable as 'fluff', but it's quite a bit of plot development.  
> so, fluff returns this chapter! I guess!  
> enjoy!

“Are you sure you really want to do this?” Suga asked, arms crossed, standing in front of the door to his antique shop. He brushed a lock of hair behind his ear.

Daichi nodded, glancing over at the building next to it, now renovated. “I’ve already saved up the money, and I have all the licenses. Plus, the building’s already completely furnished- from the appliances in the kitchen to the tables, and there’s a company willing to supply me with the ingredients I need for my menu.”

Suga checked the time on his phone,  _ 7:57, _ only three minutes before he would open his store. “Should I open late, or…”

“Go ahead and open now, I still have to prepare the café. I’m opening at noon.”

“I’ll take my lunch break then to help you. ...Are you sure you can manage an  _ entire _ café by yourself?” Suga asked, his hand on the door to his shop, still hesitating.

“Don’t worry. I’ll have some guys here tomorrow, they just couldn’t make it today.” Daichi explained. “They’re enthusiastic about working here with us.”

“Okay. If you need any help, I’m right next door. I can wait tables for you if you’re cooking…” Suga offered. He checked the time again.  _ 7:58 _ .

“There shouldn’t be too many people. I placed an ad in the newspaper-”

“Seriously, Daichi, who reads the newspaper?”

“-and asked my dad to tell some people in his restaurant.”

“That should bring in a lot of people.” Suga shrugged, opening the front door to his shop. “And if you need any help, I’m usually bored out of my mind. I’ve gone through  _ eight _ books of word searches. Eight. That’s eight too many. I’m becoming an old grandma, Daichi.”

Daichi chuckled and stepped forward, cupping a hand on Suga’s cheek, who smiled and snaked his arms around Daichi’s waist. They stood there for a minute, staring into each other’s eyes as the hot summer breeze floated around them. Daichi pressed his lips to Suga’s briefly, and stepped away, his hand on the door to his café.

“You should get to work.” Daichi suggested, “and when I’m ready to open, I’ll come get you.”

“Sounds good.” Suga responded, reopening the door (he was unaware he had let it close, anyway). There was a moment as both of them hesitated, looking at each other, then Suga disappeared into his shop. Daichi smiled to himself before he entered his new café.

He took a deep sigh, glancing around. Daichi still had a few more things to do to prepare the grand opening of the place, including decorating each table and readying the kitchen. He glanced at the wall this building shared with Suga’s, then set off working at the thought of him.  _ Four hours until Daichi’s hard work paid off. _

 

“Are you  _ sure _ this is the right place, Iwa-chan?”

Iwaizumi grumbled, and rolled his eyes. “How many times do I have to tell you,  _ Shittykawa _ , that, yes, this is the right place. We’ve been to Suga’s shop a million times.”

Oikawa glanced over, pouting. “Shush with the insults, Iwa-chan. You haven’t used them in four days.”

“Well now it’s zero days.” Iwaizumi said, crossing his arms. Oikawa looked back over at the antique shop, the new café, and the now very crowded parking lot.

“Nevermind that, Hajime,” Oikawa muttered, in awe at the business Suga’s shop was receiving. “There’s so many people here. Usually, when we come, this place is deserted.” Iwaizumi nodded as Oikawa took a few more steps forward.

“There’s a café here now.” Iwaizumi noted, catching up with Oikawa, who was in front of the antique shop’s door. “Who opened it?”

“Let’s ask Koushi-chan!” Oikawa chirped as he opened the door and made his way over to Suga, who was sitting behind the counter, seemingly concentrating on something, not noticing the two who had just entered until Oikawa approached him.

“Oh, hey guys,” Suga greeted, standing up from his chair and setting down a word search book on the counter. He glanced up at Oikawa, then over at Iwaizumi. He was about to say something else, when Oikawa beat him to it.

“What’s that place next door?” Oikawa asked, jabbing a thumb at the wall which was shared with the building attracting all the customers.

“Daichi opened a café,” Suga answered. “Though he’s extremely short staffed right now, it’s getting wonderful business.”

“Does… he need any help?” Iwaizumi offered, stepping forward. Suga shook his head.

“Says he can do it himself. It’s really not  _ that _ crowded, and the whole building’s pretty small so he can work with all the customers efficiently anyways. He even sent me back over here after my lunch break was over, though only a few customers have stopped by. Most of them were attracted by the café, and stopped over here to look at what I had.”

“How long’s the place been open?”  Iwaizumi asked, nodding towards the café. Suga pulled out his phone and checked the time.

“Um, almost six hours now.” Suga answered. Oikawa’s eyes widened.

“And Daichi-san’s been running it  _ alone? _ ”

Suga chuckled. “Like I said, he insists he can do it by himself. It  _ is  _ only for today, and he plans on closing really soon. He’ll probably be exhausted.”

“Well, I’m glad Daichi’s happy with it.” Iwaizumi said, sitting down onto a couch. “We wouldn’t want to bother him while he’s working.”

Oikawa nodded. “Yeah. Can we wait here with you until he’s done?”

“Of course.” Suga answered with a smile. Oikawa beamed and sat down on the couch next to Iwaizumi. Suga sighed, picking up the book he had set down earlier. “You know, this is my ninth book of word searches. _It’s been a week._ _Nine._ I’m so bored here.”

“But you won’t give up your job.” Oikawa muttered.

“I would never even  _ think _ of giving up this place. It’s not just my job, but it’s my home, too.” Suga said, his smile turning gentle as he set the book back down. He rubbed the pads of his fingertips over the smooth cover. “I could never think of leaving this place, it’s really grown on me the past few years. I don’t really want to leave it. I… always thought of myself living here forever, and always running this shop. If anything happened to it… well, I don’t know what I’d do.” His smile fell at the possibility of someday having to leave the building he had called home for what had seemed like a million years.

“Nothing’s gonna happen, Koushi-chan. I assure you.” Oikawa said, causing Suga’s smile to reappear, almost as if it had never been gone in the first place. Suga stepped out from behind the counter.

“You’re right, Oikawa. I’m just overreacting.” Suga sighed. Oikawa flashed a reassuring smile.

The front door to the antique shop chimed as Daichi stepped inside, rubbing his face with a free hand. A car drove away in the parking lot, and there was a small group of people walking away from the building. Suga threw an arm around Daichi’s shoulder, who pecked him on the cheek.

“Hey Oikawa, Iwaizumi.” Daichi greeted; Oikawa waved and Iwaizumi nodded his hello. “How’s it going?”

“Nothing much since last time.” Oikawa answered, shrugging. “How about you two? Did anything fun when you spent the night, Koushi-chan?”

Suga rolled his eyes. “Not by your definition of  _ ‘fun’ _ .”

“How long ago since we were last here, two weeks, right?” Iwaizumi asked. Oikawa nodded. “That’s when he-” Iwaizumi knocked his shoulder against Oikawa’s- “kept me here forever.”

“That remind me, Daichi, when  _ did _ I suggest you open a café?” Suga asked. “Was it a month ago? You prepared all this without telling me for a month?” Despite his words, Suga was grinning. “Until just a few days ago, that is.”

“Yep. A month.” Daichi said nonchalantly. Suga rolled his eyes again.

“You guys gonna keep being dorks?” Oikawa asked.

“If you guys are tired from a hard day’s work, I’ll get him out of here.” Iwaizumi said quickly, jabbing a thumb in the direction of Oikawa, who stuck out his tongue childishly in response.

“I  _ am  _ extremely tired.” Daichi yawned. Iwaizumi immediately stood up from the couch, pulling Oikawa up along with him. “But the café is a success.”

“Alright. I guess we’ll be on our way.” Iwaizumi declared, causing Oikawa to pout.

“But Iwa-chan, I wanted to talk to them,” Oikawa whined.

“See you guys soon, hopefully?” Iwaizumi asked Daichi and Suga. “Tooru’s usually extremely busy with university, and we both have volleyball. I’ll try to carve some time out of our schedules to drop by. And, Tooru, don’t you have a project due soon?”

“You’re right! Let’s get going, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said, tugging on Iwaizumi’s arm.

“See you guys later.” Suga smiled. Daichi waved as Oikawa and Iwaizumi left the shop, walking back down the street hand in hand. Daichi rested his head on Suga’s shoulder.

“Extremely tired is an understatement.” Daichi sighed, “I’m exhausted.”

“It’s alright.” Suga said, patting Daichi’s head. “How about I close up shop, you stay here tonight and we watch cruddy romance movies on tv?”

“Even if I’m half asleep.”

“Especially if you’re half asleep.”

“I’m in.” Daichi muttered, lifting his head and pressing a kiss to Suga’s temple. “Love you, Suga.”

“Love you too, Daichi. Now come on. Those movies aren’t gonna watch themselves.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~this is the shortest chapter at 1564 words. i apologize. though there wasn't much in this chapter, anyway, aside from the plot development. so, this was a needed chapter, and there wasn't much I really could've added except more conversation. which would just kinda drag the whole thing on and that probably wouldn't be very good, so, yeah. the chapter ends here!~~
> 
>  
> 
> ~~also if you were wondering, you'll find out who Daichi was on the phone with at the beginning of chapter nine... next chapter. so, hooray for that!~~
> 
>  
> 
> chapter thirteen will probably be out pretty soon, probably by the end of the week. after that... there's only three more chapters ;o; it'll be sad to bring this massive story to a close, but it's mostly fluff over plot *shrug * plus, i have other stories i'm super excited to start, and I kind of want to relax for the last stretch of summer break (but i'm planning on finishing the rest of this fic this month, so don't worry!) . then it's back to school, and i wont have much time to write, blah blah blah. but i'll definitely try to get some stuff out. it'll just take a lot longer than normal!
> 
> so, thanks for reading, and have an awesome week!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you may now notice that this fic is over 30,000 words long. To which I tell you that while I was writing this chapter, from 29863 words to 30000 words I was listening to The Final Countdown. yes it was amazing and hilarious
> 
> alright, I bet you guys wanna see who's new! if you haven't seen the updated tags, then keep reading ;)
> 
> enjoy!

Daichi was in the kitchen of his café when he heard the bells in front of the door chime.  _ That’s them, it has to be. _ Through the wall, he could hear a laugh, and a few stuttered words. As he closed the door to the fridge, he smiled. A few moments later, he was standing out in the main part of the café, two men standing in front of him.  _ Old friends, _ he reminded himself.  _ Though it’s as if they haven’t changed in five years. _

The smaller man was the first to pipe up. “Daichi-san! It’s been too long, y’know?” He said, beaming happily. “I mean, I haven’t seen you since you left Karasuno.”

The taller man awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck, though Daichi noted something was different about him. Unlike his high school self, the man had seemed to grow more confident, and was even holding himself differently. As if his presence was stronger. “Hey, Daichi. Thanks for telling me about the café idea over the phone. I didn’t think you’d actually go through with it, but,” The taller man gestured around to the café surrounding them, with its traditional Japanese design, “here we are.”

“There’s no need to doubt me, Asahi. I told you, I’d have it done in a month.” Daichi answered, crossing his arms. He couldn’t suppress his smile, seeing his former friends and teammates for the first time in years.

“Asahi-san! You told me Daichi had a boyfriend running the antique shop next door? Where is he?” The smaller man questioned, shaking Asahi’s arm.

As if on cue, Suga walked in through the front door. He stopped when he saw the two in front of him.

“Oh, I didn’t know the guys were here already, Daichi.” Suga said, smiling nervously. He extended a hand out to the two of them. “My name is Sugawara Koushi, but you can just call me Suga. I run that antique shop.”

Asahi took his hand and shook, smiling warmly. “I’m Azumane Asahi. I went to high school with Daichi. Oh, and you can call me Asahi.”

The smaller man merely slapped Suga’s hand in a high-five. “The name’s Nishinoya Yuu!” He said, his grin still in place. Suga laughed, trying to mask the fact that his hand kind of stung a little. “I also went to high school with Daichi. He was my senpai.”

“He was a fantastic senpai.” Daichi added.

“He was a horrible senpai.” Nishinoya mumbled, and Suga laughed again. Daichi shook his head.

“Anyways, Suga, these are the guys who I invited to help me work here. Besides volleyball practice in the mornings and late evenings, their schedule is pretty open.” Daichi explained. “So they’ll have enough time to work here with us.”

Suga smiled his greeting again, although much more relaxed this time. If these guys were good friends of Daichi’s, then Suga supposed he could be, too. Plus, they seemed to be nice people, and they even came to help out Daichi with the café.

“When can we get started? Is there a uniform? What am I going to be doing?” Nishinoya asked his questions at lightning-fast speed, almost buzzing with energy. Daichi set his hand on Nishinoya’s shoulder to calm him down.

“Well, the café opens at noon, so we have an hour to prepare for customers. It’s going to be pretty packed until we close at six; be prepared for a long day. I was thinking Noya’s the lone waiter, since he’d be pretty good with people, and Asahi helps me out in the kitchen.” Daichi said. Asahi nodded and Noya just continued to buzz with energy. He raised his arms into the air in excitement.

“I’ll be the  _ best _ waiter  _ ever!” _ Noya yelled. Asahi chuckled.

“I suppose the uniform is just an apron. Even though you won’t be in the kitchen, Noya, you should still wear one so people can identify you as the waiter.” Daichi said, heading to the kitchen so he could grab the spare aprons for his new workers.

“Are you just going to be in the antique shop next door?” Asahi asked Suga when Daichi was out of the room.

“Yeah. I’ve got to run that place, but I would totally help you guys out if I didn’t.” Suga answered. “And I think you three should have it under control.”

“We should, but who knows with Noya.” Asahi said, glancing at the small guy who glared up at him. Asahi suppressed a smile.

“Excuse you, Asahi-san.” Noya mumbled. “I’ll be the  _ best _ waiter!”

“I know you will.” Asahi said, patting Noya on the head, who swatted away his hand.

Daichi walked out from the kitchen, two aprons in one hand. He extended them to the guys, who enthusiastically put them on.

“So, I can cook us an early lunch if anyone’s hungry.” Daichi offered, and Noya jumped up and down.

“Wow, what can you make?” Noya asked. Daichi smiled.

“I’ll make us something quick, okay? Customers will start showing up soon.” He said, heading back into the kitchen. “Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll have something out for you guys. In the meantime, why don’t you take a seat?” Daichi gestured to a table, then the door to the kitchen swung shut behind him. Noya sat down, legs crossed, and Asahi sat next to him. Suga sat on the other side of the table, and there was a spot left open for Daichi.

“So, Suga,” Noya started, leaning forward on to the table with his elbows and resting his chin on his hands. “Have you just moved to Miyagi, or…”

“No, I’ve lived here my whole life. Um, in high school, I went to Seijoh.” Suga answered. Noya’s mouth dropped open.

“No. Way. That school was a  _ powerhouse _ in volleyball. Did you play? Or did you do some other sport? You kind of look like a ‘tennis’ guy, but maybe you could do some math competition club or something.” Noya said, tilting his head to the side.

“I played volleyball for a little while and didn’t enjoy it there.” Suga replied. “The senpais were always rude, and I didn’t have many friends. I didn’t continue with club activities after my first year.”

“Oh, they allowed that?” Asahi said. “That you didn’t continue, I mean.”

“A club was only mandatory our first year.” Suga shrugged. “So you guys played volleyball with Daichi, and you continue now?”

“Yeah! We’re working hard to get on the national team!” Noya answered, starry-eyed. “It’s tough work, but we should probably make it within a few years. We might have to quit the job here, but… hopefully we can stay for a lot longer. And our current volleyball practices won’t get in the way of this café!”

“Um, Suga, if you don’t mind, what got you into antiques in the first place?” Asahi asked.

“Well, that’s good, Noya,” Suga said. “And I got into antiquing about five years ago. My mom, she passed down a lot to me, and others I’ve collected from other people looking to get rid of their ‘junk’. Most of my customers are usually old women, but some of them are even regulars and I’ve befriended them.” He smiled, glancing at the wall which the café shared with his shop.

“Oh, well it’s an interesting hobby. Uh, not to be rude, I just think it’s great that you’re into it. And it’s even better that you met Daichi that way.”

Suga smiled. “Yeah. So you two met in high school, I presume?” He said, shifting the conversation back over to Asahi and Noya. Noya grins.

“Yep!” He confirmed, slinging an arm around Asahi’s shoulder and pulling him down.

“H-hey, Nishinoya-”

“Relax, Asahi-san!” Noya continued as he proceeded to noogie Asahi’s head. After a moment of Suga’s laughter, Asahi managed to push the smaller boy’s arms off him.

“In volleyball club.” Asahi said, only slightly out of breath. “You should see Noya play, he’s a great libero. His skills are completely unmatched. Did you know he was able to receive one of the best aces in Japan’s spikes?” Noya blushed, crossing his arms.

“It’s no fair when you talk about me like that. And I didn’t even receive the first spike. He’s a  _ lefty. _ ” Noya hissed, causing Asahi to chuckle.

As their conversation died down, Daichi finished making lunch for them in the kitchen. He walked out holding four bowls, and set them on the table as he took his seat next to Suga.

“Wow, this looks amazing!” Noya said, staring at the food. He grabbed a nearby pair of chopsticks and began to shove it into his mouth. “What ‘s it?”

“Gyudon.” Daichi answered, trying not to laugh at Noya. “It takes no time at all to make, so I thought it’d be perfect. And I figured you guys would like it.”

“It  _ is _ really good, Daichi.” Suga said as he ate his food. “Then again,  _ anything _ you make is good.” Asahi nodded.

“I second that.” He added, glancing over at Noya, who was so engrossed with the dish that the had already downed half of it.

“Hey, Noya, if you’re the first to finish, then will you wash the dishes for me?” Daichi asked as Noya was nearing his final bites. He immediately stopped, and stared wide-eyed at Daichi, who was smirking.

Then Noya groaned. “I  _ guess,” _ He said as he stood up and finished the last bits of food left in the bowl. “Come drop off the bowls when you guys are done.”

“Thanks, Nishinoya!” Suga called as Noya shut the door to the kitchen behind him. Asahi took a bite of his gyudon and frowned.

“I don’t know if I trust him in the kitchen alone. Last time, he burnt an entire batch of cookies and then called me to come home from the supermarket. They were  _ charred _ .  _ Black. _ Our house smelled of burnt cookies for a  _ month _ .” Asahi shook his head as he recalled the thought. Suga and Daichi stifled their laughter.

“He’s just using the sink, right? I think it’ll be okay.” Suga said, turning to Daichi, who shrugged.

“No idea. I’ll finish up and go check on him to ease your worries, Asahi.” Daichi decided. “Anyways, you two should hurry also, it’s getting really close to opening time.”

“Yeah. Thanks for cooking though, Daichi.” Asahi added as they quickened their pace. A few minutes later, they finished their bowls, and headed into the kitchen with Noya.

“Uh, h-hey guys,” Noya mumbled, his face pink. The bowl he had his gyudon in was clean and in the sink, but the floor was covered with water. “Um, be careful. The floor can be… slippery when wet.”

“I’ll go get some towels from my place.” Suga offered, quickly ducking out of the room. Daichi sighed, not saying anything, and Asahi just stared at the water on floor.

“...You did this all by yourself?” Asahi said after a few moments. Noya nodded slowly.

“I’m sorry. Kitchens hate me.” Noya apologized, grinning sheepishly. Suga returned with a few towels clutched in his hands, and he dropped one onto the ground by the door and began soaking up the water, pushing the towel around with his feet. He handed the others to Daichi, who continued to not say anything, and started cleaning up. Noya took everyone’s bowls and set them in the sink, stepping out of the way.

“It’s okay, Noya.” Asahi tried to reassure him, but Noya shook his head.

“No. Look at him, he’s not talking. You  _ know _ he’s the mad when he’s  _ silent _ .” Noya whispered to Asahi as if Daichi couldn’t hear him. Daichi looked up at Noya, then continued cleaning up the water.

“...There. That should do it. I’ll leave you three to work.” Suga said, picking up the wet towels. He gave Daichi a quick peck on the cheek to cheer him up, then headed back to his shop to dump the towels there. Daichi’s face went pink as he turned to Asahi and Noya.

“It’s almost noon now, so customers should be arriving at any minute. Asahi, I can trust you here in the kitchen with me. Noya, just don’t drop anything.”

“I’ll try my best!” Noya declared. Daichi nodded.

“Good. When you hear someone come in, you should greet them and sit them at a table, hand them menus, and ask what they would like to drink, then you come back, get the drinks, and get their orders, then you tell them to us.” Daichi explained.

“How am I supposed to remember them, though…?” Noya asked, and Daichi looked around the kitchen, then handed Noya a small notepad and pen.

“That sounds like an easy enough job.” Asahi noted. 

“Asahi, you’ll just be cooking in here with me.” Daichi said as he turned to the taller man.

“Of course. I wouldn’t trust Noya in the kitchen, either.”

“Hey, that’s no fair, Asahi-san!” Noya yelled, crossing his arms. Asahi laughed and ruffled Noya’s spiked-up hair.

The three heard the bells attached to the front door ring, and Noya almost jumped, grinning. “I guess it’s my time to shine, huh?” He said.

“You’re really overestimating being a waiter.” Asahi muttered, and Noya hit him on the arm.

“Shush,” Noya replied as he headed out of the kitchen, pink still dusting his cheeks.

 

The sky was only showed a hint of orange as Daichi, Asahi, and Noya collapsed on a couch in the antique shop, exhausted from a hard day’s work.

Suga smirked. “Was work all you chalked it up to be?” He asked, organizing some boxes behind the counter. Noya would have jumped off the couch immediately, but he was extremely tired, like he always felt after a rather taxing volleyball practice.

“...Yes.” He mumbled, leaning his head on Asahi’s arm, who either didn’t mind, or was too tired to care, probably a mix of both. “I did a  _ fantastic _ job as waiter.”

“Almost as great as you being a libero.” Asahi added.

“I didn’t drop  _ anything _ .” Noya continued.

“I’m proud, Noya.” Daichi said, clapping the smaller man on the back, who lifted his arms up in triumph. Suga hid his laughter from behind the counter.

“Seems like things have changed since this morning, Daichi.” Suga noted. Daichi sighed, glancing over at Noya, who was still basking in his ‘victory’.

“Oh well. We cleaned up the water, that’s a thing of the past now.” Daichi said. Noya grinned, lowering his arms to drape them around Asahi’s shoulders.

“Something tells me that you’re going to get him back for it.” Suga said. Daichi merely shrugged.

“We’ll see.” Was all Daichi said. There was silence as the three exhausted guys rested, and Suga continued organizing boxes.

“You did a great job with your cooking, Asahi-san.” Noya said into his shoulder. “It smelled really good. I was tempted to just steal it.”

“Please don’t make Daichi mad.” Asahi muttered, glancing over at him. Noya laughed, cuddling himself further into Asahi.

“Hey, Daichi, would you come in the other room with me?” Suga asked suddenly. Daichi stood up from the couch reluctantly, frowning. Suga opened the door to his back room, and Daichi stepped inside, Suga following him. Asahi looked at them curiously as Suga shut the door.

“What’d you want me in here for?” Daichi asked. Suga whispered a  _ ‘shh’ _ and pressed his index finger to Daichi’s lips.

He motioned to the door with his other hand. Daichi frowned, glancing at it, and Suga rolled his eyes, pressing one of his ears to the door.

“Suga, what are you doing?” Daichi whispered, barely audible. Suga grinned, opening the door just a crack.

In the main section of the antique shop, Asahi and Noya sat on the couch. Except now, Noya was sitting on Asahi’s lap, and their faces were locked in a  _ very _ intense kiss. Suga giggled quietly as Daichi rolled his eyes, shutting the door again.

“I knew it. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it.” Suga chanted, whispering.

“Uh huh.” Daichi said. He stood in the room for a few more moments.

“Hey, Daichi? Suga?” Noya called from the other room. “We’re going to head on out, okay?”

“Sounds good.” Daichi replied through the wall. “See you two tomorrow!”

Suga elbowed Daichi. “How much you bet they’re going to continue it at home?”

Daichi sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~the final countdown~~
> 
> i was actually expecting this chapter to be a lot shorter, but my expectations were wrong, it turned out at around ~2,700 words. Hooray! Now we've bypassed the 30,000 word count!  
> As always, thanks so much for reading. I'm gonna start chapter fourteen very soon, and actually, I'm going to have it out pretty early too. For reasons which will be explained when I post chapter fourteen!
> 
> have a wonderful friday, and weekend! ♡


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter shouldn't be too short, so, enjoy!
> 
> warning: Lots of Fluff

“Hey, Daichi-san!” Noya burst into the café one day, about thirty minutes before it was set to open, a few weeks after him and Asahi had started working there. He had a piece of paper clutched rather tightly in one hand. Daichi looked up from his spot, cleaning one of the tables. Asahi was close behind him.

“Oh, hey Noya.” Daichi replied, looking back down to scrub the table. “What’s the paper you have?” Noya ran forward, and shoved the paper into Daichi’s hands.

“Look!” He said, grinning, and slightly panting.

“A…” Daichi stared at the paper. “A western-style traveling amusement park is rolling into another town?” Noya nodded happily.

“Yeah! It’ll be here for all of next week, so we should take some time off to go visit it then!” Noya suggested, and Daichi glanced back down to the paper.

“We all know you should use some time away from this place. It’s like you live here now.” Asahi noted. “And you do end up staying the night with Suga most of the time after work, so we thought this would be a great place to take you two.”

“Yeah! It’s really not going to be far from here, just a pretty short train ride away, and we can all go next Friday or something.” Noya suggested. “There’s going to be tons of different foods, rides, and  _ so _ much more!”

“Asahi…?” Daichi asked, still uncertain.

“Well, it might be pretty fun. There’s no point in not trying, right?”

“Not trying what?” Suga asked as he walked through the door. He made a beeline for the paper Daichi was holding, and gently plucked it out of his hands.

“An amusement park?” Suga read. “That sounds fun. Are we all going to go sometime? Daichi, you  _ do _ need to get out of the shop sometime.” He elbowed Daichi, who rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” Asahi said. “We’re trying to get Daichi on board.”

“But the café…?” Daichi reminded them. Suga sighed, snaking his arm around Daichi’s waist.

“Don’t worry. We can stay closed that day, alright?” He said. “Anyway, I think I’m about ready for a day off.”

“It’s not like you  _ do _ anything.” Noya muttered, and Suga shrugged.

“Yeah, you’re right. I get hardly any customers. I mean, I’ve definitely gotten more since they opening of the café. But it makes money.” He stated. “And I guess I enjoy it.”

“Well, since it’ll be no problem for you, Suga, then let’s go next week.” Asahi suggested.

“Okay. I’m on board.” Daichi said, glancing at Asahi and Noya. “What day next week?”

“Well, Saturday’s the last day, so it would probably be super crowded. Though, any of the days it would probably be super crowded… but I think Friday’s a good day. Since, y’know, it’ll be close to end of the week already.” Noya added.

“Friday would be nice.” Suga said. Daichi nodded.

“Next Friday it is.” Daichi decided, and Suga smiled, kissing him on the cheek. Daichi’s face turned pink.

“Yay, Daichi!” Suga said, and Daichi proceeded to get more flustered in front of Asahi and Noya. 

Noya laughed, then turned to hug Asahi, who hugged him back. “I can’t wait, Asahi-san!” He mumbled into Asahi’s chest. The taller man smiled.

“Alright then. We have work to do before the café opens.” Daichi announced suddenly. “Suga, see you after the shift.” He leaned down to kiss Suga on the lips in one swift motion, then the silver-haired man was out the door, only the lightest amount of pink brushing his cheeks.

“Let’s get to work, Noya.” Asahi muttered. Noya nodded, stepping away.

“Of course!”

  
  


The train ride to the neighboring town took almost no time at all, and soon Daichi, Suga, Asahi, and Noya were at the amusement park.

In front of them sat massive rides, attractions, different varieties of food, games, and tons of people flocking around various booths and stalls for food and games set up around the main rides of the park. Near the center of the fun sat a huge ferris wheel, spinning up high into the light blue sky above. It was only late afternoon, but still pretty hot outside, and more people were arriving as the sun set and everything cooled.

“What should we do first?” Noya asked, staring up in amazement at the scene before him. Suga pulled Daichi forward into the park, and Noya pulled Asahi ahead to catch up with the two.

“Maybe we should get something to eat? I’m pretty hungry anyway.” Daichi suggested. Suga shook his head, frowning.

“Then won’t we throw up?” He asked.

“You’re probably right, Suga-san.” Noya pointed out. “So there’s a bunch of rides as our option.”

“What about the ferris wheel?” Asahi asked. Noya scrunched up his nose.

“At  _ least _ save that for later, when it’s sunset and the sky is super pretty.” He said.

“I agree with Noya.” Daichi said. “And since when were you so romantic?”

Noya shrugged. “I’ve always been like that, haven’t I, Asahi-san?”

“No.”

Noya sighed as they approached a small booth selling cotton candy. Suga stopped walking and turned to Daichi, his hand still holding Daichi’s wrist.

“Hey, Daichi, can we get cotton candy? It’s not something big, so we won’t get sick.” Daichi nodded and took out his wallet to buy a few bags, and the other three found a nearby table. Daichi returned with two bags, and Suga enthusiastically began tearing into one of them.

“Will you share with me?” Daichi asked as he handed the remaining bag to Asahi and Noya. Suga glanced up as Daichi sat down next to him, and then he shook his head. “Oh come on,” Daichi muttered, and he reached for the sugar. Suga eyed him, but didn’t stop him as he stole his cotton candy.

“There’s a lot of rides here.” Asahi stated, drawing the attention of the other three. “So what should we start with…?”

Noya rolled his eyes. “That’s what I was saying before.” Asahi shrugged.

“Well, I’m definitely looking forward to that ferris wheel ride. It’s all just a matter of finding what to do before that.” Suga said.

“Let’s just finish our cotton candy first.” Noya muttered, his mouth full of the melting treat. “And then I’ll think about it.” He took another bite into the sugar as Asahi tore off a piece.

After eating flavored, spun sugar, the four headed into the park to find something to do. There was a row of booths with cheap carnival games, and large teddy bears as prizes hanging from the top. When Suga saw a panda, he stopped walking.

“Suga?” Daichi asked, turning around. Suga’s eyes were wide.

“Daichi. You  _ have _ to win that panda.”

It was no big surprise that Suga was horrible at carnival games, particularly the one booth which held the panda. It was a game where you throw darts at balloons, and in order to win the large prize, you had to pop all five small balloons with all five of the darts.

Daichi sighed, walking up to the booth and taking a few yen out of his wallet. After paying the girl, she handed him the five darts and explained the game. Set up in front of him were five large balloons and small balloons. And if Daichi didn’t pop all of the small balloons quickly, he knew Suga would probably ask him to spend his entire wallet.

After a few tries, and a few hundred yen, Daichi and Suga were walking away, and Suga was holding a huge panda. When they arrived at the other carnival booth where Noya was desperately trying to toss rings over the tops of bottles, Asahi gave a sigh of relief.

“Finally, you guys are here? He’s been going at it for five hundred yen. He’s in  _ the zone _ .” Asahi muttered, glancing at Noya, who had still completely failed to even land one ring on one 

bottle. Suga stifled his laughter.

“What are you trying to win, Noya?” Suga asked.

Noya frowned. “Honor.” He muttered, before tossing his last ring and missing. Then he stormed off, the attendant at the booth staring at him like he was crazy. Asahi mumbled a quiet apology and headed off after Noya, pulling Daichi and Suga with him.

Besides the ‘Carnival Booths’ incident with Noya, the rest of the amusement park was a lot of fun, even if Suga was showing off his panda (and frankly, it was making Noya jealous) . Daichi and Asahi rode their first roller coaster that day, albeit a somewhat small one. While Suga and Noya enjoyed what was of the ride, and complained about it’s length at the end, the other two were completely terrified of dying on the roller coaster.

Asahi ended up buying the group ice cream, and they all ate it while looking for another thing to do. When Noya suggested they all ride the roller coaster again, Suga agreed, while Asahi and Daichi did not. So after Suga and Noya rode the roller coaster at least six more times, they all finally decided to go do something else.

And after more ice cream, pizza, other snacks, and various other rides, the sun was finally setting into the sky. It touched the horizon, and filled the park with an orange glow. 

At the first signs of sunset, Suga pulled Daichi to the ferris wheel, Asahi and Noya close behind.

Thankfully, the ferris wheel wasn’t as crowded as most other places of the park. The four of them paid for the admission ticket, and each couple headed to a different ferris wheel cart, the attendant shutting the cart door behind them.

The carts rotated until more were filled up, and then the wheel was completely spinning. 

Noya laughed, watching the ground and people below them shrink as they rose, and then he turned to faced Asahi.

“The view’s great up here.” Noya whispered, beaming. Asahi couldn’t resist a smile. He reached forward, cupping Noya’s cheek, feeling butterflies in his stomach. 

“Yeah.” Asahi muttered. Noya’s cheeks dusted with a light pink, and his grin turned into an endearing smile which Asahi had always loved. He sat down next to Asahi, leaning his head on his shoulder and watching the scenery pass by. Asahi leaned down to kiss him on the forehead, smiling too.

“This day has been wonderful, Asahi-san.”

“It has.”

Suga clenched Daichi’s hand in his own tightly, staring out at the amusement park below them.

“Thanks for the panda, earlier.” Suga said finally, after silence. He glanced down at the attendant, where he had left the giant stuffed animal to reclaim as he got off the ride.

“No problem.” Daichi replied, watching as the gold beams of light shone on Suga’s silvery hair. Daichi smiled to himself as they sat next to each other, close, but not saying much. It reminded him of that night, back on the cliff, except this time the silence was much more comfortable.

“I love you, Daichi.” Suga said suddenly, appreciating how Daichi’s cheeks quickly became red. Suga laughed. “I love spending time with you. And I’m so glad you opened the cafe.”

“So am I, Suga. And I love you, too.” He brought his free hand up to Suga’s cheek, cupping it. Then he quickly pressed his lips to Suga’s, only for a heartbeat, and in a swift moment they were parted once again. Suga could swear he felt his lips buzzing.

The couples sat like that for the rest of the ride, only to get off when it was stopped. The four all climbed off together, Suga reclaiming his “prize”.

“That was a great ending to a great day.” Asahi said as they walked out, headed towards the exit of the amusement park, all of them hesitant to leave and end the perfect night.

“It really was.” Daichi replied, squeezing Suga’s hand underneath his own.

“Let’s go home, Daichi.” Suga said, the pink of the fading sunset still in his hair. Daichi remembered how he glowed, back up at the ferris wheel, and smiled.

Because Suga had always glowed like that, ever since they had met. The silver-haired man was a star which lodged itself into Daichi’s heart, destined to remain there forever.

“Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me..~~
> 
>  
> 
> ~~i mean um yes it kind of is my birthday as I am posting this :3~~
> 
>  
> 
> anyways, I hope you enjoyed the fluff. Sorry I didn't expand on the amusement park as a whole, I didn't have much time to write. But i got the ferris wheel scene done, and that's the most important part c:
> 
> This next announcement is very important: **Chapters 15 and 16 will be released together** . Chapter 15 ends on a cliffhanger, and chapter 16's the epilogue, and I really don't want to leave you guys hanging for a few days while I struggle to finish 16. so, they should be released in about a week, possibly longer, though I don't want it to be very long of a wait.
> 
> So, I'll see you guys at the conclusion of this story, next week! ♡


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is. The final two chapters.
> 
> *takes deep breath*
> 
> Before we continue, I just want to thank all of you for reading, kudosing, commenting, and bookmarking- you, my readers, have been wonderful support as I write this. Thank you all so, so much. And if by chance you're reading this fic after it's already complete, then thank you, too!  
> With that said, there is angst this chapter. Have fun.

Noya rushed into the kitchen, ripping out a page of his notepad and standing up on his tiptoes to add it to the list of orders hanging up high over the stovetop for Asahi and Daichi to cook. He walked over to Asahi, kissing his sweaty cheek, earning a smile as Asahi cooked rice in the hot and somewhat cramped kitchen. He reached up to wipe the sweat off his forehead with his bare forearm, sleeves of his button-up shirt rolled to his elbows.

“How's it going, Asahi-san?” Noya asked as he strode over to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of pineapple-flavored ramune, and popping out the marble. Daichi glanced over from the stove, using the distraction to momentarily turn his mind away from cooking. Although cooking was a newfound passion of his, and he enjoyed it extremely, it was taxing to stand up for six hours straight, making the same dishes over and over again, though he was glad to have Asahi as company. Most of their time in the kitchen was comfortable silence, and when he did talk with his high school best friend, it was always a rather light conversation which didn’t require much of their attention.

“What? You’re not going to check up on me?” Daichi asked, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. Noya rolled his eyes, nursing down half the bottle of ramune in one swig, then lowering it to respond.

“You’ll be fine. You have an iron-hard will  _ and _ body from your time as captain, after all.” Noya stepped forward merely to slap one of Daichi’s exposed biceps. He sighed.

“Oh, it’s going good, Noya.” Asahi just now answered, still smiling, cheeks flushed from either the heat in the kitchen or Noya’s kiss from earlier. Noya grinned as he finished off the last drop, setting the glass bottle onto the counter, and heading back over to the door to the main section of the café.

“That’s great, Asahi-san! We only have two more hours left of this shift! Power through it!” Noya said, pumping a fist and pushing through the door, leaving the kitchen. Daichi smiled to himself, wiping his sweaty hands onto a nearby dish towel.

“He’s always so optimistic.” Daichi noted, glancing back over to the door. Asahi nodded, looking up and double checking the nearest order which he was cooking.

Noya stood around the interior of the café, walking around to check on the customers and converse with each of them for a few minutes. However, most of the crowd had already arrived and left as the place opened, so now only about three tables were filled. Noya was getting bored, and was about to head back into the kitchen to annoy the two cooks, but a pair of familiar faces caught his eyes.

“I told you, Iwa-chan, Daichi wouldn’t mind us popping in at his work. Anyway, when was the last time we’ve seen him and Koushi-chan? A month?” A voice asked. Noya turned, putting on a grin for two people whose names were on the tip of his tongue. He was sure he’d heard “Iwa-chan” before, too.

“Oh, look, Iwa-chan! That’s Karasuno’s old libero!” The taller guy said, pointing at Noya as he walked over, hands in his pant pockets and his face scrunched up in thought as he tried to attach a name to each of the faces before him.

“You’re the old captain of Seijoh, right? And the ace, too. Oikawa and Iwaizumi.” Noya stated slowly, the names finally coming to him. Oikawa nodded.

“Yeah! Do you by chance know where Daichi is?” Oikawa asked. Noya pointed to the kitchen with a thumb.

“Sorry, but I can’t let you back there. But, I  _ can _ go back there myself. So why don’t you two sit down, order up a nice tea or bottle of ramune, and let me go grab him and your drinks?” Noya replied, walking the two over to a table and sitting them down. He held his notepad in his hand, ready to jot down the drink orders for the couple. Iwaizumi sent a glance at Oikawa.

“I’ll take a water.” Iwaizumi said. “And he’ll have a melon ramune, please. Would you just tell Daichi we’re here? If he’s cooking, we wouldn’t want to disturb him.”

“Sure thing!” Noya answered. “And the drinks are coming right up, you two.” He turned, heading back to the kitchen.

“Iwa-chan, I don’t even  _ like  _ melon ramune!” Oikawa whined, and Noya stifled his laughter into his shirt sleeve as he pushed the door open.

“Welcome back, Noya.” Daichi said. Noya headed over to the fridge once again, pulling out the melon ramune with his left hand and filling a glass with water with his right.

“Daichi! Oikawa and Iwaizumi are here for you.” Noya nodded his head towards the door, heading back over to deliver the drinks. Daichi nodded, busy plating a dish.

“Asahi, there’s only a few customers, so you can take a break for a little while, just go grab Suga. Then you five can talk, and Noya, you can ask if they want something to eat. I’ll finish up these.” Daichi decided, taking over the food Asahi was cooking.

“Alright. Don’t ruin the kitchen while we’re gone.” Asahi said, humor lacing his words. Daichi smiled, and Asahi and Noya disappeared out of the kitchen to accompany Oikawa and Iwaizumi in the café.

Suga was already sitting by the couple, conversing. He looked up, then waved Asahi and Noya over.

“You guys remember Oikawa and Iwaizumi, right?” Suga asked as they sat down, Noya sliding the drinks to the two across the table.

“Of course! Your killer serve was amazing to receive!” Noya said to Oikawa, beaming, who gave a small smile in appreciation.

“Yeah.” Asahi agreed, letting the others direct the conversation.

“Great! Maybe we could all go on a triple-date soon. Unfortunately, that traveling amusement park’s already left. But we could go have dinner, or…” Suga shrugged. “Something. Just us five plus Daichi.”

“Sounds good.” Iwaizumi said. “I’ll let you know when we have a hole in our schedule.” Oikawa nodded, sipping the melon ramune despite his earlier protests.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Daichi awaited more orders from Noya, opting to finish the ones scribbled messily on the ripped out pages of notepad in front of him. He squinted at the next order, two bowls of gyudon. Shrugging to himself, Daichi moved to the fridge to grab the ingredients.

He returned to the stovetop, dropping the meat and chopped onions into the pan. Daichi stared at the skillet.

“Soy sauce, mirin, rice…” He listed the other ingredients needed aloud, turning away to grab them while also checking the rice in the rice cooker. He slipped off the lid and set it on the counter, stirring it with a spoon. Then he moved back over to the fridge, locating the soy sauce, mirin, and other ingredients he would usually add to a gyudon dish. He hummed to himself as he listened to the crackle of the stovetop fire, the sizzling of the meat and onions, and looked around the fridge for any possible ‘special ingredients’ he could add to make the dish even better. Shrugging, opting to go with his normal recipe, Daichi glanced at the door to the main section of the café, but something else caught his eye.

A dish towel sat dangerously close to the flame below the skillet. Daichi watched the flame lick up, catching the cloth in what felt like slow motion. It immediately flared up and spread to the whole cloth, and Daichi just stood there, clinging to the ingredients as if he had nothing else to do.

He stared, his body tensed up as the fire spread up to the cabinets above, and quickly raced along the ceiling and wall, engulfing it with flames. He heard the panicked yells from customers outside, dropping the bottles from his arms, the loud crash and splatter of the liquids onto his pants shaking him from his trance.

The door to the kitchen flew open, Suga behind it. “Daichi, get out of there! The whole kitchen’s on-” he coughed, “-on fire!”

The flames quickly spread in front of the door, sectioning Daichi off. He desperately moved closer to Suga, but the fire blocked his path. He coughed into his shirt sleeve, the smoke burning his lungs and eyes.

“Call the police! Run! Get out of here, Suga! I’ll be fine!” Daichi yelled over the crackling fire, Suga taking steps back to not let the flames get closer to him, although hesitant to leave Daichi. The smallest amount of moisture gathered at the edges of Suga’s eyes, causing Daichi’s heart to wrench as the fire raged on around them. Firetruck sirens rang from outside.

“If anything happens, I love you, Daichi.” Suga yelled in reply, cracking a sad smile. A tear rushed down the curve of his pale white cheek.

“I-I love you too, Suga. I’ll see you on the other side, now  _ go!” _ Daichi’s words rang throughout the building, and Suga turned to run outside. Daichi didn’t see anyone else in the building, silently thanking that he was the only one there. He desperately glanced around, searching for an exit, but the flames were quickly consuming the whole room. As they grew, he was backed into the corner, a frenzy of coughs attacking him as the firefighters rushed inside to extinguish the flames.

Suga stood outside, watching the roaring flames fill the entire café, and spread to the other building, right next door. As fire devoured the antique shop, Suga buried his head into Asahi’s shirt, clinging tightly, waiting for someone to bring Daichi out. He  _ had _ to make it out alive.

Suga felt a gentle tapping on his back, and he looked up at Asahi, who was pointing at two men carrying out Daichi, whose clothes were barely singed. He turned around, flinging himself out of Asahi’s embrace and into Daichi’s arms, his eyes red and puffy from crying and heart beating wildly.

Suga heard his antique shop burn. He heard Daichi’s café burn. But he didn’t dare watch it.

Daichi hugged Suga tightly back, glancing around at the people remaining. All of the current customers had managed to make it out unharmed, including Oikawa and Iwaizumi who sat on the ground next to Noya, also refusing to look at the fire.

“It’s going to be okay.” Daichi whispered as Suga sobbed, forming a wet patch on Daichi’s shirt. He didn’t care. “I’m sorry.”

“D-don’t-” Suga hiccuped, “apologize. It wasn’t your f-fault, Daichi.”

Daichi rubbed soothing circles into Suga’s back, who kept his face nestled into Daichi’s shoulder. “I was cooking, and I should have paid more attention.”

There was silence among the two as the firefighters extinguished the fire completely, minutes later leaving some trailing off the buildings. Besides the café and antique shop, it had only spread to a nearby clothes store which shared a back wall with the other two shops. The firemen reported that mostly everything in the buildings had been destroyed, checking up on everyone and receiving information about the origin of the fire before leaving the scene. The other customers had already left, too, and only the three couples remained behind.

“Everything. Everything I had is gone.” Suga mumbled, slipping out of Daichi’s arms to stare at the remains of his shop. “It’s all burnt down.”

No one said anything for a while.

  
  


Daichi stood in front of a door. More specifically, a door to a small, antique resale shop and café tucked away in a neat corner of Miyagi.

Both of which had been burnt to a crisp.

“What are we going to do?” Noya voiced, sometime long after Oikawa and Iwaizumi had hugged all four of them and made their way back home. “It’s all gone.”

Suga shook his head, his tears having dried up long ago. “I don’t know.”

“Suga, Noya.” Asahi said. “We’ll find a way. We can do something.” He wrapped his arms around Noya’s shoulders, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“Yeah.” Noya muttered.

Daichi turned to hug Suga again. “It’ll be okay, I promise.” He leaned down to kiss Suga on the lips for a few seconds, the touch delicate. They pulled away.

“Don’t worry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~im dyign~~
> 
>  
> 
> if you're reading this, and chapter 16 isn't out yet, then wait like ten seconds i gotta write the authors notessss
> 
> and if you managed to survive the angst of this chapter, then you get a cookie. but not from me. i don't have any cookies. go find your own cookies
> 
>  
> 
> ~~and, did anyone catch the subtle foreshadowing in previous chapters to the fire? cause i promise, I did foreshadow it ;)))~~


	16. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the epilogue awaits. I'm not gonna keep you with an overly long author's note. Enjoy!

_ “A car crash occurred early this morning on the central highway- though the reason for the crash still unknown, it does bring the death of a woman named Sawamura Kamiko, aged fifty-six, leaving behind a husband and two accomplished children. The husband was injured in the crash, though not fatal. Luckily, the others were uninjured, but both cars sustain heavy damage.” _

Daichi flicked off the tv, feeling Suga cuddle up next to his side. His mind went blank for a moment, still processing the information-

_ “-death of a woman named Sawamura Kamiko-” _

__ _ “-leaving behind a husband and two accomplished children-” _

__ _ “- husband was injured in the crash, though not fatal-” _

Daichi shook his head, glancing down at Suga, who was snuggled up close. After all this time, he still wasn’t used to Daichi being a morning person, but it seemed like now he was awake and alert, at a record time of 8am.

“...Your mother.” Suga mumbled, looking up at Daichi. “She died? Did you know anything about this?”

Daichi sighed, reaching for his phone on the table next to the couch. “...I didn’t.” With one hand he held his phone, and the other rubbed at his eyes. He pulled up Eri’s contact and brought the phone up to his ear as he pressed the call button.

It rang once before Daichi’s sister picked up. “Dai-nii? I’m guessing you heard about the crash…?” She asked, her voice small.

“From the news.” He replied. She was silent for a moment before speaking up.

“Mom… she’s…” Eri’s voice broke off into a sob, and Daichi’s face twisted, blinking tears from his eyes.

“But d-dad’s okay.” Eri finished. “Well, one of his arms and legs are broken, he’s going to be b-bedridden for a while. I’m going to stay here in Miyagi until he heals, then I’m heading back to Tokyo for my second year of university. H-hopefully I won’t get too behind.”

“Yeah,” Daichi said with a nod.

“A-and, I’d like to let you know, Mom’s funeral will be soon. I’ll call you later with the details, if you want them.” She paused. “If you’re even going to go.”

Daichi stared at the floor, thinking. “I have Suga here with me, and I have to work, too. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it.”

Suga cupped Daichi’s cheek, frowning slightly. “Don’t worry about me. Go spend some time with them, I definitely don’t need to be holding you back here. It’s family.”

Eri’s breath hitched through the receiver. “But you  _ are _ family, Kou-nii.”

Suga’s eyes widened, and he buried his face into Daichi’s shirt, tears threatening to spill. Daichi smiled, resting his free hand on the back of Suga’s head, his fingers carding through Suga’s hair.

Suga smiled into the cotton of Daichi’s shirt.  _ “But you  _ are  _ family, Kou-nii.” _

__ “T-thank you, Eri,” Suga stuttered.

“You’re welcome, Kou-nii.” Eri replied through the phone. “Dad’s waking up. D-do you want to talk to him?”

“No.” Daichi said. “Just tell him I wish for the best, and I’m not going to the funeral.”

Eri sighed. “I respect your decision. M-mom never was the nicest to you, anyway… but, I’ll see you around, and maybe I’ll drop by before I leave for Tokyo. Love you, Dai-nii. And you, Kou-nii.”

Suga lifted his head, his smile still in place. “I love you too, Eri.”

“Me too.” Daichi added, the phone call ending as his sister hung up.

“Kou-nii.” Suga whispered. “I like the sound of that.”

  
  


The new café was always serene when Daichi and Suga arrived in the morning, before customers and before the other couple which helped them run it. Suga walked in, tugging off his sweater and setting it behind the counter in the back.

He sighed. “I don’t tell you this enough, but thank you, Daichi.”

“Hm?” Daichi turned, raising an eyebrow and walking over to the counter where Suga stood, gazing at the floor. He slipped an arm around Suga’s waist. “And what do you mean by that?”

“Well, when we lost the antique shop and old café, you never gave up hope. You scraped up whatever money we had left in the bank, and convinced me to stop sulking and get a job with you. T-thank you. Without you, I probably would have lost everything for good after the fire.” Suga glanced up, his eyes glazed over with tears. He gestured to the café around them, decorated traditionally Japanese-styled, similar to the old one, but also more of a mix with modern styles. It was bigger than the old café, now including a bar along the back wall where Noya and Suga stood most of the time as the lone waiters, and a bigger kitchen where Asahi and Daichi could spread out (and hopefully not cause a fire).

“You could have just left.” Suga said, frowning. “It would be easy. You could have forgotten about me, and went back to your old job. Made amends with your mother. But instead, you chose to stay. You’re strong, Daichi, and that’s not something I can ever be.”

_ “-You’re strong, Daichi-” _

__ _ “-you chose to stay.” _

__ _ “-You could have forgotten about me-” _

Daichi smiled, wiping the tears from Suga’s eyes. He remembered just over a year ago, when he was standing in front of the antique shop door for the first time, hesitant to enter. He remembered a week later, when he was again hesitant to enter, knowing that night would forever change his life, and how it did. He remembered sitting on the edge of the cliff, the vast sky above with its twinkling stars, and the city sprawled in front of them. 

He remembered standing in front of the antique shop door for the last time, flames rising up from the building.

He didn’t ever remember becoming  _ strong. _

“You’re welcome, Suga.” Daichi said, sincerely, watching as Suga smiled and wiped away his own tears.

“Now, let’s get the café ready for opening. Asahi and Noya should be here soon, anyway.”

“Right.”

  
  


Suga’s talking to a customer at the ar when a pair of familiar faces walks through the front door. Quickly, he chooses to finish up his conversation, then shift his attention to the newcomers.

“Oikawa? Iwaizumi? It’s been forever, what’s up?” Suga asked, Oikawa nervously scratching at the back of his neck.

“Well, um, we heard about the café. And, I know it’s been a while since you’ve opened, but now we’ve decided to drop by.” Oikawa answered.

“Tooru’s been super busy with university.” Iwaizumi shrugs in the general direction of Oikawa, taking a seat at the counter. “Psychology, and all. Taking him years.”

“I’ll have you know, Iwa-chan, I’m doing  _ fine _ with uni. I’m passing every test with  _ flying colors. _ ” Oikawa crosses his arms, sliding into the seat next to Iwaizumi, who rolls his eyes.

“I’m the one who reminds you to study.”

“Iwa-chan!”

Suga smiled, remembering the antics of the couple from before. He remembered the days which they crowded his old antique shop, Oikawa seeming to fill the entire room with his presence, as he always did., and Iwaizumi there to check him. The days in which Oikawa hung around the shop, for no reason other than to give Suga company, dragging Iwaizumi there despite his protests. The days which he confided into Oikawa, before the night on the cliff with Daichi.

“Thanks for coming by. It means a lot, really.”

“Sorry we couldn’t come earlier, though.” Iwaizumi said, resting his head on his hand, propped up on the counter with his elbow. “You could have texted us, and we’d show.”

Suga shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine that you only decide to come now. The beginning of this café… well, it wasn’t the best. And we had to scrape up a lot of money beforehand, so both Daichi and I were really stressed back then. It… wasn’t a great time.” Suga laughed nervously. “But, we got through it. That’s still a miracle I can’t believe.”

Iwaizumi smiled. “Well, I’m glad it’s going good now. Can I order a water?”

“And a green tea?” Oikawa added.

“Of course,” Suga nodded, turning around and heading through the doors into the kitchen.

Daichi, being the diligent worker he was, was cooking at the stovetop, trying not to become distracted by the ‘scene’ behind him.

“Um, Noya?” Suga asked gently, staring mouth wide at Noya, who had Asahi pinned up against the wall, one arm around Noya’s waist and the other holding a spatula. Suga tried to ignore the sloppy sounds of the couple before him making out. “Can we be a little more professional in the workspace, please?”

Noya stepped away and turned around, shrugging. “It’s not like you don’t do it with Daichi-san all the time, anyway.”

“How dare you mock me! I try to keep that to a minimum!” Suga gasped.

“Uh, more like  _ maximum _ .” Daichi muttered, trying not to laugh. Asahi managed a weak chuckle, returning to the meat he had cooking on the stove.

“ _ Anyway _ ,” Suga huffed, turning to the fridge to grab the drinks for his friends sitting outside the kitchen, “Oikawa and Iwaizumi have shown up.”

“Really?” Asahi asked, probably still trying to cover the fact that his face was literally bright red.

“Yep. Oikawa’s been busy with university, so they haven’t had time to drop by.” Suga explained, shutting the fridge with the green tea in one hand and water in the other. Noya stood by Asahi, seemingly impatient.

“Hurry up, Asahi-san, I wanna go see them.” Noya pouted, and Asahi laughed, bringing out plates to put the food on.

“Y’know, we were going to do something with them, before the fire happened, right?” Asahi recalled, slowly plating the food perfectly (much to Noya’s restlessness). “Maybe we could do it sometime soon.”

“That’d be fun.” Daichi replied. Suga nodded.

“I’m okay with that.” He added.

“Then let’s ask them!” Noya decided, almost leaping out of the doors to the kitchen, forgetting that he was waiting for Asahi to finish up an order so he could deliver it. He groaned inwardly.

“Wait, Nishinoya, I’m almost done.” Asahi placed his free hand on Noya’s shoulder, holding him in place. As soon as Asahi’s work was finished, Noya slipped the plates onto a tray, eager to head back out into the café.

“One second, Noya, and I’ll go out there with you.” Suga said, then turning to Daichi as he set the drinks in his hand on the counter. Daichi snaked an arm around his waist, kissing him on the forehead while still cooking.

“Come on! I have to wait for you two to finish being dorks now?” Noya huffed. Suga smiled.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been in the kitchen for ten whole minutes.” Suga answered. “I have to spend time with Daichi somehow.”

“I second that notion, Suga.” Daichi mumbled, his breath hot on Suga’s forehead, drawing out another smile from the silver-haired man. Suga watched him cook for a minute, Noya’s impatience only growing.

“We have  _ customers _ to serve,” Noya tapped his foot against the ground.

“And I have a boyfriend to love.” Suga replied, causing Daichi to laugh, a pink color splayed out across his cheeks.

“Alright, Suga, you can stop letting me distract you now.” Daichi removed his arm from its place around Suga’s waist, returning to the food cooking in front of him. Suga pressed a kiss to Daichi’s cheek, then grabbed the drinks and headed over to the door exiting the kitchen.

“Be safe while cooking, you two,” Suga said, grinning. Asahi chuckled, and Daichi smiled back in response. “We don’t want to start another fire.” With one last smirk from each of them, Noya and Suga pushed through the doors, leaving the two others alone in the kitchen.

“Whatever did you do to land yourself someone like him?” Asahi questioned, and Daichi just laughed.

“I don’t know, Asahi, I don’t know.”

  
  


No matter what bad thing might have happened, they had always pushed through.

A fire at the antique shop was not the end to Suga’s or Daichi’s tale. Through not just Daichi’s strength, but both of theirs, they had managed to overcome it, opening up a new café, this one better than before.

They did have hardships in their relationship. Like the multiple times Suga had beaten Daichi at monopoly, when it was five am and they had both accidentally stayed up way too late, blinking the sleep out of their eyes, and refusing to let the other win. Like the multiple times where they were  _ interrupted _ by someone knocking at the apartment door with a “noise complaint”.

Suga was finally happy. He had somewhere to belong. He had a purpose.

And Daichi, by some  _ miracle _ , had found something he didn’t even think he was looking for.

He made sure to tell Suga this two years later, standing at the altar at a church. Noya and Asahi behind each of them, and a priest in front. Two words into his vows, Daichi had broken down crying, amazed that they had made it this far.

Because when he first stood in front of that antique shop door, he didn’t know what was coming. He didn’t know how his life would be changed forever.

He had the chance to never be standing there at all.

And when they kissed, his heart fluttered like the first time- like  _ every _ time- and Daichi was recalled back into the memory of the cliffside, where there was nothing between them, only the open sky and endless possibility above.

Their kiss was broken apart by the loud cheering from everyone attending the wedding. When Daichi opened his eyes, blurred by tears, he saw one thing clearly.

A priceless gift in the form of a certain silver-haired man with twinkling caramel eyes, a beautiful smile, and a cheeky mole on the curve of his left cheek: Sugawara Koushi.

Or, now, Sawamura Koushi.

Daichi didn’t think he’d ever get used to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end.
> 
> The fic which I've been writing for two and a half months is finally coming to a close. I've enjoyed writing it a lot, and it was a fun au to mess around with. Though if I ever do another multichapter fic in the future, updates will be a lot less common, and chapters longer and better-written.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading! And if you enjoyed, leave a kudos or comment, support is always appreciated!
> 
> Since I don't have to prioritize writing this fic anymore, I can start working on some other projects which have been interesting me. I'm planning on uploading something every week or two, whether its a super long oneshot, a short oneshot, or a tumblr prompt oneshot, (which I will be getting back to uploading soon). i have a lot more ideas for future fics, and hopefully I can keep writing for a much longer time! if you want to be updated concerning my writing schedule, then check out my latest upload here, which will usually have something written about when you can expect another update. or, you can follow me on tumblr [ here ](http://smol--kiwi.tumblr.com/) . i don't have a lot on my blog right now, but eventually i'll get used to it, and start posting about my writing.
> 
> for now, thank you _so much_ for reading! and I'll see you all soon!


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